London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Greenwich 1965
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]
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45
"over 65s" group also continues to increase. These two factors
together have augmented the pressure of dependency on the working
portion of the population, viz., those between 15 and 65 years
—a section of the community whose relative size has correspondingly
diminished.
From details given in the following table it will be seen that
the "working" population of Greenwich, i.e. those between 15 and
65 years amounts to approximately 66.4% and that of "dependent"
groups collectively, to 33.6%. In effect, this means that for every
two persons of "working age" there is one dependent person
outside this group.
ESTIMATED AGE COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION
| Age | No. | Approx. % of Total Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 3,770 | 1.6 | |
| 1 to 4 years (inclusive) | 13,730 | 5.9 | |
| 5 to 14 years (inclusive) | 30,500 | 13.2 | |
| Total Child Population under 15 years | 48,000 | 20.7 | |
| 15 to 64 years (inclusive) | 153,880 | 66.4 | |
| 65 years and over | 29,890 | 12.9 | |
| Total Population | 231,770 | 100.0 |
Marriages
The Marriage Rate is calculated on a "total population" basis
and, as such, is not strictly comparable with other areas by reason
of discrepancies in age constitution. A more accurate ascertainment
would be to return a rate based upon the marriage of unmarried
persons over the age of 16 years (legal marriage is prohibited where
either party is under 16 years). As over 90% of all births are
legitimate it follows that the extent to which people marry exerts
a powerful influence on the fertility rate.
Although during the past few years the marriage rate in
England and Wales has remained reasonably stable, earlier
marriage, especially among females under the age of 20, has tended
to increase; from 1955 to 1964 the number of wives in this group