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and married females from 267 to 326. To a large extent these
increases may be ascribed to the bulge of population around the
age of 20 years arising from the post-war boom in births. For the
year 1967 (the latest available), the mean age at marriage for
bachelor bridegrooms was 24.74 and for spinster brides 22.52, both
exemplifying this tendency for earlier marriage. Marriages in which
both bride and bridegroom were under 20 numbered 25,176, 40%
more than in 1956.
Births
By relating the number of births to the respective population of
a particular group, a birth rate is produced which proves to be a
convenient method of indicating the gross rate of increase of the
population by births.
However, this rate gives no guide to future effects of contemporary
variations in fertility on the maintenance or otherwise of
the population or its age characteristics and, since the population
figure used in its computation not only contains males but also
females outside childbearing age, the birth rate should not be used
as an accurate calculation of fertility.
Live births registered in the Borough during the year totalled
4,387 and of this number 3,768 occurred in hospitals and 619 in
private dwellings. In 1,718 cases the parents resided outside the
Borough and these births were subsequently transferred to their
appropriate districts leaving a figure of 2,669. To this must be
added 735 births belonging to this Borough which took place in
institutions outside the Borough, thus making a final total for
Greenwich of 3,404. a decrease of 196 from that calculated for the
previous year. Of the total, 1,732 were males and 1,672 females,
a proportion of 1,036 males to 1,000 females.