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36
General
The term 'statistics' covers all types of numerical descriptions
of social, economic and biological phenomena and, as a method of
comparing, differentiating and classifying material and data, brings
intelligent coherence to an otherwise incomprehensible mass of
minutiae.
It is conventional to consider vital statistics as the continuous
numerical recording, in a large number of lives, of marriages, births,
sickness and deaths as a means whereby the health and growth of a
community may be measured. Inevitably, of course, this leads to the
observation of other aspects of society which influence life, its
reproductivity and its vitality. This whole field is, nowadays, referred
to as the science of demography.
An essential preliminary to any statistical appraisal is the
'counting of heads' and this is achieved by the decennial Census.
However, it was not until 1801 that a national Census was initiated
and, with the exception of 1941, has been repeated every 10 years
since. At first, the Census merely covered the recording of sexes with
a rough classification of occupation. Not until the Census of 1851,
after the establishment of the General Register Office in 1839, was
appropriate detailed data sought and correct analyses made of
Census figures. Since then, the Census form has become progressively
more comprehensive and consequently more valuable as a statistical
instrument.
Population
General.—Natural factors such as famine, disease and tribal
wars which, in previous times, controlled populations have been
largely eliminated or substantially reduced and man is fast becoming
the sole arbiter of population densities. As a result, world population
is rising rapidly, the yearly increase being in the order of some 65
millions, approximately equivalent to the whole population of the
United Kingdom.
Given the present national rate of growth, there will be at the
end of this century some 17 millions more people in England and
Wales for which accommodation must be found.
Population in Greater London, however, is not expected to
grow much beyond the eight million mark by 1981, primarily because
new housing, which can be built within this period, will be sufficient
only to satisfy the needs of the existing residents. Whilst these
observations may be true for Greater London as a whole, Greenwich
in particular will prove to be an exception because development by
the Greater London Council of the Plumstead Marshes area to
accommodate 60,000 or more persons will initiate a gradual but
persistent rise in the population of this Borough, for the majority of
these people will be Greenwich residents.