M 18
(B) Vital Statistics.
41. The report of the registrar-general of births and deaths which forms Appendix C to the main report should be consulted by those desiring detailed information on the subject.
(a) Population.
42. Briefly, the population at mid-year 1939 calculated by extrapolation methods was 1,050,256 of whom only 23,611 were non-Chinese. This figure takes no account of the refugee element and a more accurate estimate would bring the total on the 30th of June, 1939, to approximately 1,750,256.
(b) Births.
43. As might be expected, the very considerable increase in the population of the Colony was reflected in the number of births registered.
44. In 1925, birth registrations amounted to 3,654. In 1932, when the Medical Department assumed responsibility for registration, the figure rose to 13,597. In the year 1936 which preceded the outbreak of the present Sino-Japanese hostilities 27,383 births were recorded.
The figures for 1937, 1938 and 1939 are tabulated below:-
1937. 32,303 1938. 35,893 1939. 46,62546. The crude, uncorrected birth-rate was 44.4 per thousand of the population estimated by extrapolation and 26.7* per thousand on a basis of normal population taken together with the refugee element.
(c) Deaths.
47. In 1925 and 1932, deaths numbered 14,991 and 19,829 respectively. In 1936, 26,356 deaths were registered. In the following three years the numbers were as in the table :-
1937. 34,651 1938. 38,847 1939. 48,31748. The crude, uncorrected death rate was 46 or 27.61 according as to whether the refugee element in the population is excluded or included in the figure for the population as a whole.
49. The large number of burials resulted in a rapid exhaustion of cemetery space within the urban area and two avenues were investigated during 1939 in an effort to deal with the problem; firstly, sites for new burial grounds were surveyed outside the urban area near Fanling in the New Territories, and, secondly, trials were made on a small scale of the cremation of abandoned bodies of persons dying of smallpox, cholera and other dangerous infectious diseases dumped in the street. (Apart from effecting an economy in land for burial, this measure should act as a deterrent against a reprehensible local custom).
(d) Infant mortality rate.
50. The cumulative effect of malnutrition, bad housing and overcrowding, and insanitary environment was clearly seen in the heavy loss of life in infants, 34.51 per thousand living births dying before attaining one year of age.
* 15.1 in England and Wales for 1938. +11.6 in England and Wales for 1938. (There was no '53.' in the original text, so it is left out as it seems to be an error or unrelated to the context).
M 18
(B) Vital Statistics.
41. The report of the registrar-general of births and deaths which forms Appendix C to the main report should be consulted by those desiring detailed information on the subject.
(a) Population.
42. Briefly, the population at mid-year 1939 calculated by extrapolation methods was 1,050,256 of whom only 23,611 were non-Chinese. This figure takes no account of the refugee element and a more accurate estimate would bring the total on the 30th of June, 1939, to approximately 1,750,256.
(b) Births.
43. As might be expected, the very considerable increase in the population of the Colony was reflected in the number of births registered.
44. In 1925, birth registrations amounted to 3,654. In 1932, when the Medical Department assumed responsibility for registration, the figure rose to 13,597. In the year 1936 which preceded the outbreak of the present Sino-Japanese hostilities 27,383 births were recorded.
The figures for 1937, 1938 and 1939 are tabulated below:-
1937.
32,303
Table Y.
1938.
35,893
1939.
46,625
46. The crude, uncorrected birth-rate was 44.4 per thousand of the population estimated by extrapolation and 26.7* per thousand on a basis of normal population taken together with the refugee element.
(c) Deaths.
47. In 1925 and 1932, deaths numbered 14,991 and 19,829 respectively. In 1936, 26,356 deaths were registered. In the following three years the numbers were as in the table :-
Table VI.
1937.
34,651
1938.
38,847
1939.
48,317
48. The crude, uncorrected death rate was 46 or 27.61 according as to whether the refugee element in the population is excluded or included in the figure for the population as a whole.
39. The large number of burials resulted in a rapid exhaustion of cemetery space within the urban area and two avenues were investigated during 1939 in an effort to deal with the problem; firstly, sites for new burial grounds were surveyed outside the urban area near Fanling in the New Territories, and, secondly, trials were made on a small scale of the cremation of abandoned bodies of persons dying of smallpox, cholera and other dangerous infectious diseases dumped in the street. (Apart from effecting an economy in land for burial, this measure should act as a deterrent against a reprehensible local custom).
(d) Infant mortality rate.
50. The cumulative effect of malnutrition, bad housing and overcrowding, and insanitary environment was clearly seen in the heavy loss of life in infants, 3451 per thousand living births dying before attaining one year of age.
* 15.1 in England and Wales for 1938. +11.6 in England and Wales for 1938. 53. in England and Wales for 1938.
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