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Live births—There were 63,728 live births registered in London in the year; after
correction for residence the final figure of births allocated to London was 55,191, an
increase of 1,039 over 1958 giving a birth rate of 17.2 per 1,000 population, compared with
16.8 in 1958 and 16.2 in 1957. The post-war trend in London followed closely that for
England and 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 since then
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 child-bearing 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 (0.90) the rate becomes 15.5. This factor makes no allowance for the fact
that proportionately fewer 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 1
LIVE BIRTH RATELONDON
(A.C.) AND ENGLAND & WALES, 1950-59
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