Amongst the latter new imperialist powers are emerging, (e.g., Japan). The struggle of world imperialisms is becoming aggravated. The tribute levied by finance-capital on the most profitable colonial and trans-oceanic enterprises is increasing. In the process of sharing-out this booty, an exceptionally large part comes back to countries which, as far as increase of production is concerned, do not stand at the top of the list. In the case of the great powers considered with their colonies, the total length of railways (in thousands of kilometres) was as follows:
| 1890 | 1913 | Increase | |||||||||
| U.S.A. | ... | ... | 268 | 413 | 145 | ||||||
| British Empire | ... | 107 | 208 | 101 | |||||||
| Russia | ... | ... | 32 | 78 | 46 | ||||||
| Germany | ... | ... | 43 | 68 | 25 | ||||||
| France | ... | ... | 41 | 63 | 22 | ||||||
| Total | ... | ... | 491 | 830 | 339 | ||||||
Eighty per cent. of the total existing railways are, therefore, concentrated in the hands of the five greatest powers. But the concentration of the ownership of these railways, that of finance-capital, is much greater still; French and English millionaires, for example, being the possessors of an enormous number of stocks and shares in American, Russian and other railways. Thanks to "its" colonies, Britain has increased its length of railways by 100,000 kilometres, four times as much as Germany. Meanwhile the development of productive forces in Germany during the same lapse of time, and especially the development of the coal and iron industries, has been much more rapid than in England—not to mention France and Russia.
