Statistical data analysis of the population, livestock and land use, in Corfu Island from 1761 to 2006.

The aim of this paper was to unify the inventory regarding the population, the number of livestock and of the land uses from 1761 to 2006 and to interpret the diachronical evolution of these factors. The main data source derived from the Archives of Corfu Prefecture, where a significant amount of historical archives dated from Venice’s Dominance are kept, and from the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG) database. The results presented a population increase in the island diachronically by 135 %. The percentage of the island’s population in Corfu town is substantial, namely approaching 35 % in 1761 and 40 % in 2001. The number of livestock continued to increase form 1761 to 1961, as a result to the population increase and the embitterment of the standard of living. However, livestock population decreased from 1961 to 2006, due to the tourism development. Overall, agricultural land occupies diachronically the greatest percentage of the extent of the island.