X1000306-1975-76_Part01 — Page 5

The following is a summary of the significant events and developments which occurred in 1975-76.

1. VITAL STATISTICS

Public Records Office of Hong Kong) Reference Library

Ref No.

Acc. No.

4560 Date 18 APR 1977

General

The estimated population of Hong Kong in the middle of 1975 was 4,366,600. About 31 per cent vere under 15, and 9 per cent over 60 years of age.

The general state of health was favourable and reflected the rapid development of medical and health services.

Birth Rate

The crude birth rate was 17.9 per thousand population, a considerable decrease as compared with the rate for 1974 which was 19.3.

Neo-natal and infant mortality rates

These rates remained low and were shown in Figure 1. The infant mortality rate was 15.0 per thousand live births and is now at a lower level than many European and American countries. This decline was due to the improvement in environmental conditions, development of maternal and child health services and increasing public appreciation of the value of these services. The major causes of infant deaths were due to congenital anomalies, immaturity, pneumonia and anoxic and hypoxic conditions.

Maternal Mortality

The rate for 1975 vas 0.03 per thousand total births, compared vith 0.16 in the previous year. The main cause of maternal mortality was haemorrhages.

General Hortality

The crude death rate was 4.9 per thousand population, in Figure 2, age and sex specific death rates were also low.

As shown

On the whole, malignant neoplasms vere the main cause of death being responsible for 24.1 per cent of all deaths in 1975. The death rate from cancer contimed to increase, rising from 49.6 per 100,000 population for both sexes in 1955 to 87.7 in 1965 and to 116.9 in 1975. The conson cancers were cancers of the lung, liver, nasopharnyx and the stomach.

The second leading cause of death was heart diseases, followed by cerebro-vascular diseases, pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema & asthma, accidents and tuberculosis. The respective rates and percentages are shown in Tables 14-16.