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GENERAL STATISTICS
1950 1951
Area in acres 7,261 7,261
Population (Registrar-General's estimate) 107,300 106,400
Number of inhabited houses (rate books) 28,428 28,608
Number of houses erected during year 232 255
Rateable Value of Borough £983,775 £997,847
Sum represented by a penny rate £3,993 £4,060
Live Births—male 643 634
Live Births—female 604 567
Birth rate per 1,000 population 11.6 11.3
Birth rate per 1,000 population (England and Wales) 15.8 15.5
Stillbirths—male 13 12
Stillbirths—female 10 13
Stillbirths Rate per 1,000 (live and still) births 18.0 20.4
Deaths—male 529 558
Deaths—female 536 547
Death rate per 1,000 population 9.9 10.4
Death rate per 1,000 population (England and Wales) 11.6 12.5
Infant Mortality rate 24.4 18.3
Infant Mortality rate (England and Wales) 29.8 29.6
Maternal Mortality rate 0.8 Nil
Maternal Mortality rate (England and Wales) 0.9 0.8
VITAL STATISTICS
Population.—The population of the Borough was 76,460 at the 1931 census and 106,636 at the
1951 census. The Registrar-General's mid-year estimate of the population for the year 1951 is 106,400.
The Registrar-General's detailed analysis of the census returns for the Borough has not yet been issued.
Rateable Value.—The rateable value of the Borough for 1951 was £997,847 and the sum represented
by a penny rate was £4,060.
Inhabited Houses.—According to the rate books the number of inhabited houses at the end of the
year was 28,608. In relation to the estimated population this yields an average of approximately 4 persons
per house. While this average appears to be low, accurate information will not be available till the 1951
census returns have been analysed.
Live Births.—The number of live births in 1951 was 1,201 as compared with 1,247 in 1950. The
birth rate was 11.3 per 1,000 population. This is the lowest birth rate in the Borough records. The
birth rate will vary, apart from other causes, according to the age and sex distribution of the population
and to permit of a true comparison with other areas the Registrar-General supplies for each local sanitary
authority what is called the area comparability factor. When this is applied to the above Borough birth
rate the result is 10.8 as compared with the birth rate of 15.5 per 1,000 population for England and Wales.
The number of illegitimate births was 43 as compared with 51 in 1950. The proportion of live births
which were illegitimate, expressed as a percentage of the total live births, is shown below for recent years:—
1925-29 3.9 1945-49 5.1
1930-34 3.2 1950 4.1
1935-39 2.9 1951 3.6
1940-44 4.6
Of the total births (live and still) 76 per cent. occurred in hospital as compared with about 45 per cent.
in the years prior to the introduction of the National Health Service.
Stillbirths.—The number of stillbirths in 1951 was 25 (23 legitimate, 2 illegitimate). Tlje proportion
of stillbirths per 1,000 total (live and still) births in recent years is shown below:—
No. of Rate per 1,000
Stillbirths total births
1930-34 214 31.2
1935-39 224 29.4
1940-44 200 27.7
1945-49 198 23.8
1950 23 18.0
1951 25 20.4
Deaths.—The deaths of residents of the Borough during 1951 were 1,105 (558 male, 547 female).
This represents a death rate for the Borough of 10.4 per 1,000 population. The deaths in any area are
influenced by the sex and age distribution of the population and to permit of a true comparison the
Registrar-General calculates for each local sanitary authority area what is called an area comparability
factor. When this is applied to the above Borough rate the result is 11.3 as compared with a death rate
12.5 per 1,000 population for England and Wales.
In Table II is given the classification of death compiled by the Registrar-General. In Table IV the
classification has been compiled from local information. To help in classifying causes of death the
Registrar-General may obtain additional information which is not available to the Medical Officer of
Wealth and thus small discrepancies may be noticed on comparing the two Tables.
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