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5
Comparability Factors
To enable local vital statistics to be compared with other districts or with national
figures the Registrar General issues comparability factors for correcting crude birth and
death rates. These factors make allowance for the way in which the sex and age
distribution of the local population differs from that for England and Wales as a whole.
The death rate comparability factor has been adjusted specifically to take account of the
presence of residential institutions in the area
To compare the crude birth and death rates for Tottenham with the national rates,
Tottenham s figures must first be multiplied by the appropriate comparability factor 1.00
for births and 1.03 for deaths.
Birth-rate
There was a further substantial increase in the birth-rate from 16.91 to 19.76 per
1,000 population, the highest figure since the peak post-war rate in 1947 of 21.57 per
per 1,000. This growing upward trend which is general throughout the country means
that central and local authorities are having to re-appraise their plans for the future in
many different spheres of public service, For example, the hospital services are finding
a greater demand for maternity beds and the local authorities health departments are
meeting increased pressure for domiciliary and clinic services. Education departments
in turn are required to find more places as the children reach school age. In addition
there must be long term planning for housing and employment in later years,
Illegitimate Births
For the past seven years the percentage of illegitimate births has been steadily
rising and in 1962 it reached 11.5% or one birth in every nine was illegitimate.
Between the two world wars the rate never exceeded 4.6% but the following graph
shows how this has risen in the post war era.
Infantile Deaths
The number of deaths before reaching the first birthday was 51, the same as in 1961.
However, as the number of births was higher, the infantile death rate fell from 26.58 to
22.84 per thousand live births.