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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1979
ESTIMATED FIGURES ON POPULATION
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THE ESTIMATED POPULATION AT THE END OF DECEMBER 1978 WAS 4,720,200, FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SHOWED.
COMPARED WITH THE END-YEAR 1977 ESTIMATE, THERE WAS AN INCREASE OF 153,310 PEOPLE OVER THE YEAR, REPRESENTING AN ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH RATE OF 3.4 PER CENT.
THIS WAS MADE UP OF A +PLUS+ OF 56,900 THROUGH THE BALANCE OF BIRTHS OVER DEATHS AND A +PLUS+ OF 96,410 THROUGH THE BALANCE OF MIGRATION.
BIRTHS LAST YEAR TOTALLED 80,785 OR 897 MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
THIS INCREASE WAS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE GRADUAL INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE CHILD-BEARING AGES BETWEEN 15 AND 49.
BUT THE CONTINUING TENDENCY FOR THE GENERAL LEVEL OF FERTILITY TO DECLINE HAS FURTHER REDUCED THE CRUDE BIRTH RATE FROM 17.7 PER THOUSAND POPULATION IN 1977 TO 17.5 LAST YEAR.
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS FOR 1978 WAS 23,885 AS COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING FIGURE OF 23,406 FOR 1977.
THE CRUDE DEATH RATE AT 5.2 PER THOUSAND POPULATION REMAINED THE SAME AS IN 1977.
THE FIGURES ON BIRTHS AND DEATHS ARE BASED ON EVENTS OCCURRING RATHER THAN ON REGISTRATIONS MADE AND THEREFORE DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THOSE RELEASED BY THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,
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