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5
VITAL STATISTICS.
Tables of figures showing the chief features of the vital
statistics of the Borough of Hornsey will be found at the end
of this Report. These tables of statistical matter, although they
are not always interesting in the reading, are to be considered
as comparable to an annual balance-sheet. They show the
work done by the Health Department during the year, and
enable us to contrast the health of to-day with that in previous
years.
Population.—The population of the Borough, estimated by
the Registrar-General's method, was 88,661 in 1924. As I ha e
pointed out in previous Reports, the taking of the Census in
Midsummer, 1921, decreased our population figure, as many
of our inhabitants were away in the country or at the seaside.
The estimate of the present-day population, given above, which
is worked out from the Census figures, is probably, therefore,
an under-estimation.
Aye and Sex Distribution.—Death-rates vary considerably
according to the age of the population in which they are estimated.
If all the persons in Hornsey were under 45 years of
age our death-rate would be about 4.3 per 1,000; if, on the other
hand, our population was composed of persons over 65 years
of age, the death-rate would be as high as 72.5 per 1,000.
Neither of these extremes exist in the Borough, but the amount
of mortality is increased by the fact that we have a definite excess
over the average for England and Wales of elderly persons.
This increases the death-rate, and may in part account for the
rise in the mortality from Cancer, to which further reference
will be made.
Birth-rate.—During the past-year 1,331 children were born
in the Borough of Hornsey. This corresponds to a birth-rate
of 15.0 per 1,000 persons, and is the lowest rate on record with
the exception of those which occurred during the war years
(Table A). The main reasons for this low birth-rate are that
persons marry at a later age than formerly, and that they
deliberately wish to avoid adding to the population. Another
factor is the practice of taking drugs or using other methods
to procure abortion. About a dozen instances of this have been