London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1900

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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5
Deaths.
The number of deaths in the Administrative County of London in 1900 (52 weeks) was 83,987,
giving an annual death rate of 18.6 per 1,000 living. The London death rate in successive periods
has been as follows—

All causes—Death rates per1,000living.

1841-5024.8189121.01189618.21
1851-6023.7189220.31189717.81
1861-7024.4189321.01189818.41
1871-8022.5189417.41189919.61
1881-9020.5189519.51190018.61

The death rate in each year since 1840 in relation to the mean death rate of the period 18411900
is shown in diagram III.
The following table has been prepared for the purpose of comparing the death rate of the
registration county of London with those of other English towns having populations which exceeded
200,000 persons at the census of 1891.

The columns showing "death rates corrected for age and sex distribution have been obtained by multiplying the "crude death rates" by the "factor for correction" published by the Registrar-General in the annual summary for 1900.

Towns.Estimated population middle of 1900.Crude death rate per 1,000 living.Death rate per 1,000 living (corrected for age and sex distribution).
1890-9.1900.1890-9.1900.
London4,503,78219.8219.1221.120.4
Manchester548,76824.324.127.527.3
Liverpool634,78025.725.728.228.2
Birmingham519,61020.921.523.123.8
Leeds431,28720.320.022.522.2
Sheffield365,92221.422.623.825.1
Bristol324,97318.416.719.117.3
Nottingham242,67618.719.120.120.5
Bradford291,53519.116.421.818.7
Hull238,73619.719.720.720.7
Salford220,81624.225.127.228.2
West Ham314,47217.315.918.717.2

London had therefore (comparing the corrected death rates) a lower death rate than any of
these towns except Bristol, Bradford and West Ham in the year 1900, and a lower death rate than
any except Bristol, Nottingham, Hull and West Ham in the period 1890-9.
The following table enables comparison to be made of the death rates of London with the
death rates of several foreign cities.3

All causes—Death rates per1,000living.

Towns.1890-9.1900.Towns.1890-9.1900.
London19.8219.12St. Petersburg28.8*24.5
Paris20.920.6Berlin19.219.0
Brussels19.216.4Vienna22.720.5
Amsterdam18.516.6Rome20.219.1
Copenhagen19.217.8New York22.220.6
Stockholm18.716.8

It will be seen that in the period 1890-9 the London death rate was lower than that of any
of these towns except Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Berlin, while in 1900
it exceeded the death rates of all except Paris, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Rome and New York.
The following table shows the crude death rates, corrected for differences in the age and sex
1 These death rates are fully corrected for institutions, i.e., by the exclusion of deaths of persons not belonging to but occurring
in institutions situated within London, and by the inclusion of deaths of persons belonging to but occurring in London institutions
situated outside the administrative county.
2 Including deaths of Londoners in the Metropolitan Workhouses, Hospitals and Lunatic Asylums, situated outside Registration
London, but excluding deaths of persons not belonging to London occurring in the Highgate Smallpox Hospital, in the London Fever
Hospital, in the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum at Wandsworth, and in the Metropolitan Asylums Board's Hospitals within
Registration London.
2 All death rates in this report relating to foreign cities are calculated upon figures published by the Registrar-General.
*Excluding the years 1891 and 1892.
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