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FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1975
UPWARD TREND IN BIRTHS CONTINUES
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MORE BIRTHS AND DEATHS WERE REGISTERED LAST YEAR THAN IN 1973, ACCORDING TO FIGURES RELEASED TODAY BY THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, MR. WALTER HUME.
THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED IN 1974 WAS 81,879, WHICH WAS 1,732 OVER THE 1973 FIGURE OF 80,147, WHILE THE NUMBER OF DEATHS REGISTERED INCREASED BY +690 TO 22,050.
ALTHOUGH THE INCREASE IN REGISTERED BIRTHS WAS ONLY ABOUT 2.16 PER CENT, MR. HUME SAID IT WAS SIGNIFICANT IN THAT 1974 WAS THE THIRD SUCCESSIVE YEAR IN WHICH THE TOTAL OF REGISTERED BIRTHS SHOWED AN INCREASE OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S FIGURE.
THE GREATEST NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED IN ANY ONE YEAR WAS IN 1963, WHEN 115,263 WERE REGISTERED. THEREAFTER THE NUMBER DECLINED EVERY YEAR UNTIL THE DOWNWARD TREND WAS REVERSED IN 1972.
OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED LAST YEAR, 79,746 WERE CHINESE (40,980 MALE AND 38,766 FEMALE) AND 2,133 NON-CHINESE (1,042 MALE AND 1,091 FEMALE).
A TOTAL OF 20,980 WERE REGISTERED ON HONG KONG ISLAND 50,073 IN KOWLOON AND 10,826 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, THESÉ REPRESENTED INCREASES OF 3.74 PER CENT AND 2.17 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY FOR HONG KONG AND KOWLOON AND A DECREASE OF 0.79 ¿PER CENT FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES AS COMPARED WITH THE 1973 FIGURES.
IN ISSUING THESE FIGURES, MR. HUME EMPHASISED THAT THEY WERE IN RESPECT OF REGISTERED BIRTHS ONLY. +THERE ARE ALWAYS A NUMBER OF BIRTHS EVERY YEAR WHICH ARE NOT REGISTERED BY THE PARENTS AT THE TIME, WITH THE RESULT THAT WHILE THE FIGURES FOR THE REGISTERED BIRTHS SHOW TRENDS, THEY DO NOT GIVE A COMPLETELY ACCURATE PICTURE, HE SAID.
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED DEATHS COMPRISED 21,771 CHINESE (12,042 MALE AND 9,722 FEMALE AND SEVEN UNKNOWN ́SEX) AND 279 NON-CHINESE (178 MÁLE AND 101 FEMALE).
THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED DEATHS OF INFANTS UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE WAS 1,421 AS AGAINST 1,345 IN 1973, WHILE THAT OF INFANTS UNDER ONE WEEK OLD WAS 717 COMPARED WITH 724 THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
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