London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
VITAL STATISTICS*
Population
Table
| Year | Mid.year estimate of population by the Registrar General, by age groups | Average age (years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0-14 | 15-24 | 25-44 | 45-64 | 65+ | |||
| 1954 | 3,322 | 234 | 425 | 394 | 1,056 | 827 | 386 | 36.9 |
| 1955 | 3,295 | 230 | 421 | 391 | 1,037 | 829 | 387 | 37.1 |
| 956 | 3,273 | 229 | 427 | 384 | 1,018 | 829 | 386 | 37.1 |
| 1957 | 3,254 | 230 | 425 | 383 | 974 | 843 | 399 | 37.4 |
| 1958 | 3,225 | 231 | 418 | 387 | 949 | 843 | 397 | 37.5 |
| 1959 | 3,204 | 236 | 409 | 394 | 925 | 842 | 398 | 37.5 |
| 1960 | 3,194 | 241 | 403 | 398 | 905 | 846 | 401 | 37.6 |
| 1961 | 3,180 | 247 | 396 | 404 | 893 | 839 | 401 | 37.5 |
| 1962 | 3,186 | 248 | 378 | 422 | 894 | 838 | 406 | 37.7 |
| 1963 m | 1,500 | 138 | 188 | 205 | 449 | 383 | 137 | 35.4 |
† Resident civilian population, plus any British, Commonwealth or Foreign Armed Forces stationed in the
area.
There was a net decrease of 7,000 in the estimated total population from the 1962 figure.
This is a resumption of the continued downward trend noted since 1950, with the exception
of the two years immediately following the censuses of 1951 and 1961, which was due to
post-census adjustments of the estimates rather than an interruption of the trend. For
similar reasons differences in the age group estimates are also attributable more to adjustment
of the figures than to real changes in the age distribution of the population, although
there has been an increase in the 0.4 years group following the higher birth rate of recent
years and a decrease in the school age population (5.14 years) as children leaving school
born in 1948 are succeeded by fewer school entrants born five years ago. The increase in
the younger age element of the population in recent years has had the effect of lowering the
average age.
Fertility
Table (ii)—
| Year | Live births | Stillbirths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate per 1,000 population | No. | Rate per 1,000 total births (live and still) | |
| 1954 | 50,745 | 15.3 | 1,029 | 19.9 |
| 1955 | 49,826 | 15.1 | 1,034 | 20.3 |
| 1956 | 52,171 | 15.9 | 1,070 | 20.1 |
| 1957 | 52,733 | 16.2 | 1,083 | 20.1 |
| 1958 | 54,152 | 16.8 | 1,102 | 19.9 |
| 1959 | 55,191 | 17.2 | 1,085 | 19.3 |
| 1960 | 57,368 | 18.0 | 1,052 | 18.0 |
| 1961 | 60,052 | 18.9 | 1,103 | 18.0 |
| 1962 | 62,524 | 19.6 | 1,054 | 16.6 |
| 1963 | 63,500 | 20.0 | 1,018 | 15.8 |
* The statistics given are based on the latest information available from the Registrar General: instances have
occurred in the past in which figures have been subsequently corrected so that data for a previous year may
differ from that published in the Annual Report for that year.
5