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Wales until 1956 when the rise in the London rate preceded a similar rise in the country
as a whole ; in 1957 the two rates were again almost identical, but in 1958 the crude
London rate once more exceeded the national rate: the major factor contributing to
the increased birth rate, both local and national, appears at present to be the increased
proportion of women of childbearing age who are married. The two rates are not
however strictly comparable because the proportion of women of child-bearing age in
the population is greater in London than in England and Wales; adjusting for this
difference by multiplying the crude rate by the Registrar General's area comparability
factor for London births (0.89) the rate becomes 15.0. This factor makes no allowance
for the fact that a lesser proportion of women in London are married. The crude birth
rate for the past 10 years is shown in Figure 1 below, together with the national rate
and the adjusted birth rate: the true comparative fertility of London lies somewhere
between the lines for the crude rate and the adjusted rate.
Figure I
LIVE BIRTH RATELONDON
(A.C.) AND ENGLAND & WALES 1949-58
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