XN000022-1977-01-13 — Page 2

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 1977

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTERED IN 1976

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FEWER BIRTHS AND MORE DEATHS WERE REGISTERED LAST YEAR THAN IN 1975, ACCORDING TO FIGURES RELEASED TODAY BY THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, MR. P. JACOES.

THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED IN 1976 WAS 76,342, WHICH WAS 1,858 LESS THAN THE 1975 FIGURE OF 76,200, WHILE THE AUYBER OF DEATHS REGISTERED INCREASED BY 2,004 TO 23,195.

ALTHOUGH THE DECREASE IN REGISTERED BIRTHS WAS ONLY ABOUT 2.4 PER CENT, MR. JACOBS SAID IT WAS SIGNIFICANT IN THAT 1976 WAS THE SECOND YEAR SINCE 1974 IN WHICH THE TOTAL OF REGISTERED BIRTHS SHOWED A DECREASE AS COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING YEAR.

THE GREATEST NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED IN ANY ONE YEAR WAS IV 1953, WHEN 115,263 WERE REGISTERED. THEREAFTER THE NUMBER DECLINED EVERY YEAR UNTIL THE DOWNWARD TREND WAS REVERSED IN 1974. AFTER SLIGHT INCREASES IN THREE SUCCESSIVE YEARS, THE NUMBER FELL AGAIN IN 1975 AND 1976.

OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRTHS REGISTERED LAST YEAR, 74,355 WERE CHINESE (38,591 MALE AND 35,764 FEMALE) AND 1,987 NON-CHINESE (1,041 MALE AND 346 FEMALE),

A TOTAL OF 19,942 WERE REGISTERED ON HONG KONG ISLAND, 47,682 IN KOWLOON AND 8,718 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES. THESE REPRESENTED DECREASES OF 0.37 PER CENT, 2.58 PER CENT AND 5.64 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY AS COMPARED WITH THE 1973 FIGURES.

IN ISSUING THESE FIGURES, MR. JACOBS EMPHASIZED 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, ITH 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 22,894 CHINESE (12,693 MALE AND 10,195 FEMALE AND 6 UNKNOWN SEX) 301 NON-CHINESE (138 MALE AND 113 FEMALE).

THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED DEATHS OF INFANTS UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE WAS 1,092 AS AGAINST 1,173 IN 1975, WHILE THAT OF INFANTS UNDER ONE WEEK OLD WAS 564 COMPARED WITH 671 THE PREVIOUS YEAR.