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9
is the excess of births over deaths and which last year was 853. Some at
least of the fall is to be explained by the movement of some families
out of the district to New and to Expanded Towns. Quite apart from
these transfers though there is a steady movement of population in and
out of such districts as this.
Births
The total number of live births registered during the year was 2,931
(1,459 male and 1,472 female). Of these 128 were illegitimate, being a
percentage of total births of 4.3. The numbers of live births registered in
the five years from 1955 onwards were: 2,747, 2,755, 2,791, 2,783 and
2,830.
819 births occurred in the district (815 live, 4 stillbirths). Of this
number 32 were to residents of other districts. 2,171 (2,130 live and 41
still) birth notifications were transferred from other districts, being
mostly of births occurring to Harrow mothers in hospitals in Middlesex
or in London.
The birth rate was 13.7. The local comparability factor for births
is 1.02. The corrected birth rate was therefore 14.1; that for the country
as a whole was 16.5, the highest rate since 1949.
Deaths
The Registrar-General arranges that the information about those
who have died outside the district in which they normally reside is transferred
to the Health Offices of those districts. These numbers are added
to the deaths of those districts, corresponding deductions being made
from the deaths allocated to any district in respect of those who died
in those districts, but who normally resided elsewhere.
While certain types of institutions are not regarded in ordinary
circumstances as the usual residence of those living there, there are
many institutions which are so regarded.
1,283 persons died in this district in 1959. This figure includes
those members of the armed forces stationed here. Of these, 166 were
of persons who were not resident in the area. 176 deaths took place in
the various hospitals, eighty-four in Roxbourne, twenty-five in Oxhey
Grove and forty-six persons died in non-transferable institutions.
Of the 958 deaths of the local residents which occurred outside the
district, most took place in institutions, 380 being at the Edgware General
Hospital. 235 deaths took place in hospitals just outside the district,
including twenty-one in nearby isolation hospitals, and 241 in various
London hospitals. Four deaths were of infants born in hospitals outside
the district.
The total number of deaths was 2,078. The figure for 1958 was 1,992
and for 1957 was 1,937. The 2,094 of 1951 was the largest number of
deaths recorded for this district.