M 14-
In the non-Chinese community the proportion of male to female births was 102 to 100 as compared with 120 to 100 in 1916.
DEATHS.
The total number of deaths registered during the year was 10,433 (10,558 in 1916) and (7,921 in 1915). The general death rate was 23.4 per 1,000 as against (24.0 in 1916 and 18.59 in 1915).
The number of deaths amongst the Chinese was 10,244, which gives a death rate of 23.7 per 1,000 as against 24.6 in 1916 and 19.0 in 1915.
The deaths registered in the non-Chinese civil community numbered 189 giving a death rate of 14.00 per 1,000 (15.08 in 1916 and 13.84 in 1915). The nationalities of the deceased were as follows:- British 53, Portuguese 38, Annamite 3, Indian 24, Japanese 29, Malay 7, French 5, American and Filipinos 8 each, Russian, Italian, and Eurasian 2 each, Dutch, Peruvian, Jewish, Swiss, Canadian, Brazilian, Australian, and Parsee one each.
The death rate for Europeans and those of European origin is 7.7 per 1,000 (13.04 in 1916); 5.9 per 1,000 for Indians (11.03 in 1916); and 16.9 per 1,000 for races classed as mixed or coloured (20.05 in 1916).
The exclusion of the Army and Navy from these statistics increases both the birth and death rates for Europeans and Indians.
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS.
The total number of deaths of infants under one year of age was 3,596 being 34.4 per cent of the total number of deaths as compared with 31.8 in 1916. The number of deaths of children between one and five years of age was 1,640.
There were 32 infant deaths among the non-Chinese, being 16.9 per cent of the total number of deaths (11.8 in 1916).
Among the Chinese population the deaths of infants numbered 3,564 (3,334 in 1916), while only 2,119 Chinese births were registered, or taking the corrected number of births among the Chinese to be 3,005 as explained above, it is still found that there were more deaths than births. It is obvious, therefore, that many infants must be brought in from China, or the births in Hongkong concealed.
DISEASES.
Respiratory Diseases.
The total number of deaths from diseases of this nature was 2,248 (2,112 in 1916) of which 34 were among the non-Chinese community. Of these 1,130 occurred in infants under one year of age. Pneumonia was the cause of 360 deaths, 16 of which were non-Chinese and 55 of which occurred in infants under one year.