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Live births—There were 73,962 live births registered in London in the year; after
correction for residence the final figure of births allocated to London was 63,500 (32,529
boys-30,971 girls), the same total as in 1963, which on the increased population of 1964
gives a birth rate of 19-9 per 1,000 population compared with 20.0 in 1963 and 19.6 in 1962.
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; since
then the crude London rate has continued to exceed the national rate but whereas in 1964
the London birth rate remained at virtually the same level as that of the previous year that
for England and Wales has continued to rise. 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
(0.86 for 1964) the rate becomes 17.1. 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.
Figure 1
LIVE BIRTH RATELONDON
(A.C.) AND ENGLAND & WALES, 1955-64
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