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The population in North Woolwich was 4,409 in 1911, 3,970 in 1921, and 3,579
in 1931, a decrease of 391 persons in the last decade. It will be noted from Table 2
that in only two Eltham wards— Avery Hill and Sherard— is there any substantial
increase in the population. There are slight increases in St. George's and Abbey
Wood wards but in all the others there are decreases. A population increases when
there is excess of births over deaths and where there is an excess of immigration over
emigration, and diminishes where there is an excess of deaths over births and an
excess of emigration. During the past thirty years, in each of the three parishes which
originally composed this borough, the number of births has invariably exceeded the
number of deaths, i.e., what is known as a natural increase in the population has taken
place. In all the parishes, however, migration has been an important factor as well,
as the successive Censal populations do not approximate in any of them to the natural
increase. The extent of migration in the last decade is shown in Table No. 3, below,
which gives for each of the old parishes the percentage figures for natural increase,
gain or loss by migration and the nett gain or loss. It shows that in the borough
outward movement to the extent of 2.2% took place during the past ten years. The
table should be read thus—in the decade 1921-31 the population of the borough
should have increased by natural growth 6.8%; in actual fact it only increased by
4.6%, and therefore there was a loss of 2.2% by migration.

The number of persons per acre in the Administrative County of London was
58.7 and in the metropolitan boroughs this figure varied from 151.7 in Southwark to
17.7 in Woolwich.
The following Table, No. 4, shows the age and sex groupings (quinquennial
groups) of the population at the time of the Census. For comparative purposes the
number of persons in 1921 is also shown and the percentage increase or decrease at
each age period.