View report page

population. The rate for England and Wales for the same
period was 12.0 per thousand.
The death rate shows a decrease over the figure for the
previous year. Although the expectation of life has continued
to increase and people are dying at a later age it is
more than probable that the death rate in Wimbledon will
tend to rise. Owing to the declining birth rate there are
fewer children and younger people in the community. The
infantile deaths are now a small proportion of the total
deaths. The mean age of the population is steadily increasing.
For this reason the death rate in the Borough will
probably show an increase in the future.
The following table gives the death rate in Wimbledon
for the past ten years together with the comparative figures
for England and Wales:—

Table II. gives the causes of, and ages at. death during
1932. Deaths due to notifiable infectious diseases are given
on page 52. The principle causes of death, apart from
zymotic deaths, are as follows:—

Cancer—
Cancer and malignant disease were responsible for 104
deaths or 14.5 per cent, of the total number recorded.
11