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SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 1978.
MORE BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTERED LAST YEAR
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MORE BIRTHS AND DEATHS WERE REGISTERED LAST YEAR THAN IN 1976, ACCORDING TO FIGURES RELEASED TODAY BY THE REGISTRAR GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT.
THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED IN 1977 WAS 78,807 - 2,465 MORE THAN THE 1976 FIGURE, AND THE NUMBER OF DEATHS INCREASED BY 264 TO 23,459.
THE INCREASE IN REGISTERED BIRTHS WAS ABOUT 3.2 PER CENT, AND IT HAD REVERSED THE TREND OF DECREASES IN TWO SUCCESSIVE YEARS OF 1975 AND 1976.
THE LARGEST NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED IN ANY ONE YEAR WAS IN 1963, WITH 115,263 BIRTHS.
THEREAFTER, THE NUMBER DECLINED EVERY YEAR UNTIL THE DOWNWARD TREND WAS REVERSED IN 1972. AFTER SLIGHT INCREASES IN THREE SUCCESSIVE YEARS, THE NUMBER FELL AGAIN IN 1975 AND 1976.
OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED LAST YEAR, 76,868 WERE CHINESE (39,845 MALES AND 37,023 FEMALES) AND 1,939 NON-CHINESE (948 MALES AND 991 FEMALES).
OF THESE 20,321 WERE REGISTERED ON HONG KONG ISLAND, 49,766 IN KOWLOON AND 8,720 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, REPRESENTING PERCENTAGE INCREASES OF 1.9, 4.4 AND 0.02 RESPECTIVELY AS COMPARED WITH THE 1976 FIGURES.
THE SPOKESMAN STRESSED THE FIGURES WERE IN RESPECT OF REGISTERED BIRTHS ONLY.
HE SAID, 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 SHOW TRENDS, THEY DO NOT GIVE A COMPLETELY ACCURATE PICTURE.+
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED DEATHS LAST YEAR COMPRISED 23,160 CHINESE (12,624 MALES AND 10,536 FEMALES) AND 299 NON- CHINESE (200 MALES AND 99 FEMALES).
THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED DEATHS OF INFANTS UNDER ONE YEAR OLD WAS 1,093 AS AGAINST 1,092 IN 1976, WHILE THAT OF INFANTS UNDER ONE WEEK OLD WAS 565 COMPARED WITH 564 IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.