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5
Table 1 shows the sex and age distribution of the population at the middle of
each year from 1921, as estimated by the Registrar-General. Though exact figures
are unavailable, it is clear that the number of the aged in the population of London
is increasing substantially ; according to age-group estimates made by the RegistrarGeneral
in 1938, 8.5 per cent. of the population of the county was then over the age
of 65. Assuming that the county population is not substantially younger than the
population of the country as a whole, the percentage at mid-1950 was at least 10.9.
Migration
Toward the end of the third decade of this century, there began an accelerated
movement of population from the centre of London, i.e., the administrative county,
to the growing urban areas in the outer ring of Greater London. This was partly due
to a desire of the population for a dormitory in less built-up surroundings though
they continued to work in the central area, partly due to the movement of industry
to new factory sites on the fringe of the London area, and partly due to the active
steps taken by the Council to decant population from overcrowded slum areas to
new housing estates wherever these could be provided, in most instances outside the
county. Reference was made in the Report for 1946 to the possibility that this
migration has been selective in so far as the people who moved were younger and
healthier than the average and that the effect may be to increase the divergence in
mortality between the administrative county and the outer ring. The present effort
to restrict the size of the population by transferring Londoners to housing accommodation
outside the county must be remembered as a continuing factor. In addition
it should be borne in mind that large numbers of people come into the county each day
from outside to earn their living. So far as the spread of infection is concerned the
Londoner has a larger field of contact than can be assessed by reference to resident
population alone.
Fertility
The total births allocated to London for 1950 were :—
Live 53,281
Still 1,054
Total 54,335
The live birth-rate was 15.7 per 1,000 total population, compared with 16.7 in
1949. The births allocated to London, i.e., those of mothers residing within the
county, are less than those actually registered as occurring in the county owing to the
fact that a number of mothers come to be confined in London hospitals and nursing
homes each year. This excess of registered over allocated births now amounts to
about 13 per cent., i.e., some 7,000 births in 1950. The corresponding figure in 1949
was 5,800.
The number of marriages registered was 34,175, or 20.2 persons married per
1,000 of the total population, compared with 21.1 in 1949.
The birth-rate in London tends to follow the same trend as for the country as
a whole, but at a lower level. The diagram on page 6 shows the course of the two
rates since 1931. The actual rates for London are given in Table 5 (page 141).
Following the return of men from overseas and the establishment of more stable
conditions of family and economic life, the birth-rate in London, as elsewhere in the
country, reached a very high level in 1946 and 1947, greatly exceeding the pre-war
level, but the history of the period following the 1914-18 war had indicated that
substantial changes could occur in a comparatively short time, and it is not surprising
that a decline has taken place. The point of interest now lies in how far the decline
may proceed. The 1950 rate is still well above the pre-war level, and the pace of the
decline is much slower now than two years ago.