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
London County Council 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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4
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1913.
The conclusions thus arrived at from consideration of the changes in age-constitution of the
London population in the twenty years 1891 to 1911 are in general agreement with the census of birth
places of the population as recorded in 1911.
The following figures, abstracted from volume ix. of the 1911 census (pp. xxv. and xxvi.), show the age-constitution per 1,000 males and per 1,000 females of persons (i.) enumerated in London born elsewhere (immigrants) and (ii.) born in London enumerated elsewhere (emigrants) :
| Age-group. | Males. | Females. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigrants. | Emigrants. | Immigrants. | Emigrants. | |
| 0— | 185 | 311 | 165 | 265 |
| 20— | 92 | 91 | 98 | 88 |
| 25— | 204 | 197 | 216 | 203 |
| 35— | 189 | 174 | 184 | 180 |
| 45— | 152 | 115 | 146 | 124 |
| 55— | 101 | 68 | 98 | 77 |
| 65 | 58 | 33 | 64 | 45 |
| 75 + | 19 | 11 | 29 | 18 |
| All ages | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
It is unfortunate that the age-group 0-20 has not been further subdivided; it would naturally
be expected that among the 185 per 1,000 of male immigrants there would be a greater proportion
of males aged 15-20 than among the 311 per 1,000 males emigrating from London, and thus the disproportion
between the percentage of children added by the immigrant population would be even more
marked than the aggregate age-group 0-20 shows. The same remark would apply in even greater
degree to females, in view of the considerable influx of domestic servants aged 15-20.
In the same volume of the census, the proportion of foreign-born population in London is shown
(table 3, p. 136). North of the Thames there were 151,459 foreign-born inhabitants as compared with 22,574 south of the Thames.
The northern area, therefore, receives the greater proportion of foreigners, and as this area is practically built over, the immigrant foreigners must almost necessarily displace the native population, as will be seen from the following table:—
| Birth-place. | North of the Thames. | South of the Thames. |
|---|---|---|
| Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| London | 66.6 | 70.7 |
| Elsewhere in U.K. and Colonies | 27.8 | 28.1 |
| Foreign countries | 5.6 | 1.2 |
The age-constitution of the foreign-born population of London per 1,000 of each sex deduced from figures given on page 251 of the same census volume is as follows:—
| Age-group. | Foreign immigrants. | |
|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | |
| 0— | 140 | 153 |
| 20- | 144 | 131 |
| 25— | 277 | 269 |
| 35- | 200 | 197 |
| 45- | 128 | 129 |
| 55— | 67 | 72 |
| 65— | 33 | 36 |
| 75 + | 11 | 13 |
| All ages | 1,000 | 1,000 |
If these figures be compared with those for all immigrants, given above, it will be noticed that
while the males and females of each age-group are fairly balanced there is a relatively marked deficiency
in children and persons over 45, compensated for by the excess in the number at wage-earning ages.