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81
this was the accelerated rate of growth resulting in a totally
different set of surroundings. In the early years development was
slow with the population widely separated. In 1927 and 1928
there was very rapid development with importation of a large
volume of new population placed in surroundings, which, compared
to the other, were much more congested.
Age Distribution of the Estate Population.
It was early realised that the Estate Population had an
abnormal age distribution, being deficient in the older age-groups.
An attempt was made to calculate, from the death rates, the
proportions of each of the separate age-groups.
The age group 25 to 44 was taken as unity as it is known that
the old age population and probably the young adult population
are thinly represented; whilst, concerning the child population,
there are two unknowns, namely, the number per family and
whether there are any local influences which, while not reflceted
in the adult statistics, may be acting in the case of the children.
The following table shows these results :—
Column 1—Age-groups.
Column 2—Percentage distribution of deaths in cach agegroup
for the country as a whole.
Column 3—Actual distribution of deaths in each age-group
in Dagenbam.
Column 4—Figures of Column 3 in same proportion but
based on age-group 25/44 being the same as figure in
column 2.