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
Hammersmith 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hammersmith Borough]
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xxiii
(a) Population:
Once again the Registrar-General's estimate of our population shows a
decrease, the figure for 1971 of 184,750 being 3,230 less than the previous
year. The actual decrease since 1955 is now 48,550 amounting to 20.8%. The
estimated population of children aged under 15 years is given as made up
as follows
Under 1 year - 3,000
1-4 years - 10,000
5-14 years - 21,400
The estimated figure for persons aged 65 years and over is given as 25,300.
NATURAL INCREASE OR DECREASE OF THE POPULATION DURING THE PAST 17 YEARS
| Year | Population | Excess of Births over Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 233,300 | 852 |
| 1956 | 230,400 | 940 |
| 1957 | 227,900 | 1,162 |
| 1958 | 224,900 | 1,219 |
| 1959 | 222,200 | 1,200 |
| 1960 | 221,250 | 1,615 |
| 1961 | 219,510 | 1,111 |
| 1962 | 218,690 | 1,618 |
| 1963 | 217,360 | 1,887 |
| 1964 | 216,940 | 2,100 |
| 1965 | 215,240 | 1,975 |
| 1966 | 213,770 | 1,640 |
| 1967 | 211,720 | 1,616 |
| 1968 | 197,590 | 1,145 |
| 1969 | 192,810 | 1,009 |
| 1970 | 187,980 | 783 |
| 1971 | 184,750 | 552 |
(b) Births:
The corrected number of births was 1,553 males, 1,439 females giving a
total of 2,992 compared with 3,147 in 1970. This gives an annual rate of
16.2 per thousand of the population. The actual decrease in numbers of 155
comprised a decrease of 188 legitimate births and an increase of 33
illegitimate births.This increase in illegitimate births, amounts to 6% .
over the previous year. The rate is double that for England and Wales as
a whole.