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45
In interpreting these figures it must be emphasised (a) that
country of birth cannot always be equated with race and (b) that
although the statistics quoted are for 6 months only, nevertheless,
for Greenwich, they do represent a reasonably true pattern for the
year.
Numbering 2,080, immigrant females from the new Commonwealth
countries formed 1.8% of the Borough's total according to
the 1966 Census but, during the 6 months covered by the table,
9% of the registered births were to mothers in this group.
Unfortunately it is not known what proportion of the total
immigrant female population is of childbearing age but if it
manifests the same relationship to its total as that of Borough
females then the calculated fertility rate for the new Commonwealth
countries is some 6 times that of native residents. However,
to represent this as a true reflection of the position would be
patently misleading for there is little doubt that the proportion of
immigrant females in the 15-44 years age group is much higher than
our own. Nonetheless, if it is assumed that 80% of all resident
females born outside the U.K. fall within this age group (a generous
assumption) then the fertility rate of those from the new Commonwealth
countries still remains 2½ times that of the indigenous
population.
Deaths
Populations are not similarly constituted and their crude Death
Rates therefore fail as true comparative mortality indexes in that
their variations are not due to mortality alone, but arise also from
differences in their population constitution. For instance, a town
with a population consisting of aged persons would register more
deaths than one composed entirely of young and vigorous adults.
Again a town containing a larger number of males than females
records more deaths with a consequent higher Death Rate than
one in which females preponderate.
To overcome this difficulty the Registrar-General has worked
out for each area in the country an adjusting factor which is termed
the area comparability factor and is based on the last census population
figure. The factor for Greenwich, viz 1.08, may be regarded
as the population handicap to be applied which, when multiplied
by the crude Death Rate for the year, modifies the latter so as to
make it comparable with the country as a whole or with any
similarly adjusted area.
The net number of Greenwich deaths registered during 1969 was
2,551, of which 1,354 were males and 1,197 females compared with