Registration of births and deaths is compulsory and is governed by the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, No. 21 of 1934.
Births. There was a large increase in the number of births registered in the year under review. Whereas in 1936 the figure was 27,383 (530 Non-Chinese), in 1937 the number of births registered was 32,303 (692 Non-Chinese) an increase of 4,920. This is attributed to the increase in the population due to large numbers of refugees seeking shelter in Hong Kong and to the desire of Chinese residents to register births with a view to claiming British nationality. The number of late registrations after twelve months totalled 744 in 1937 and 272 in 1936. The crude, uncorrected birth-rate for 1937 was 32.1 per thousand of the mid-year population.
The following table provides means for comparing with 1936 the number of males and females born:
1936 1937 Males 15,064 17,559 Females 12,319 14,744 Totals 27,383 32,303Deaths. Once again the Sino-Japanese conflict caused some increase to registration figures, but in addition a severe typhoon which struck the Colony on the 2nd of September and a serious cholera epidemic earlier in the year resulted in known deaths of 490 and 1,082 persons respectively.
In 1937 the number of deaths amounted to 34,635 as against 25,380 in 1936, to which must be added 11 and 17 respectively for deaths among the Forces of the Crown. The crude, uncorrected death-rate was estimated at 34.4 per thousand living, the corresponding figure for 1936 being 25.8.
Male deaths exceeded female as shown in the following table:
1936 1937 Males 14,681 20,233 Females 10,683 14,392 Unknown 16 10 Totals 25,380 34,635