Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1960-1961 — Page 26

Central, there are now ten District Registries on Hong Kong Island, four in Kowloon and one at Tsuen Wan. In the New Territories births are with the exception of those at Tsuen Wan registered by district registrars who call at the Rural Committee Offices in the various districts according to a regular programme, and deaths are reported to local police stations. Table XVII shows the present organization of the Registry.

Births and Deaths Registered

70. Reversing the experience of 1959 when the number of births unexpectedly dropped as compared with the previous year, in 1960 the number of births registered rose by 6,088 or nearly 6% to 110,667, the highest total ever registered in a year. On the other hand the number of deaths at 19,146 was the lowest since 1955 when the total was 19,080. There was thus a natural increase in the population of 91,521. Table XVIII shows the numbers of births and deaths registered during the years 1946 to 1960.

Deaths by Age Groups

71. Table XIX shows the numbers of deaths registered by age groups during the years 1956-60. This is the first time that this Table has been included in this series of Reports, for hitherto in the absence of reliable data as to the age groups of the population, the information given would have been of little value. In view, however, of the fact that the Census Commissioner's Report on the 1961 Census is expected to be published in 1961-62, the figures given will now have some real significance.

72. It is, however, necessary to utter a word of warning about these statistics. The vast majority of the ages of the deceased are given to the District Registrars by relatives according to the Chinese reckoning under which, for instance, if a child is born the day before Chinese New Year, it is regarded as being two years old on the following day. These Chinese ages are converted by the District Registrars to ages according to the European reckoning, but obviously errors can easily be made in the process. Apart from that, from the experience gained by the Department in dealing with the post-registration of births, it is clear that a great many people are extremely hazy about their own and their relatives' ages. A further complicating factor is the tendency of relatives to exaggerate the age of the deceased, it being not un- common in public announcements to add one month to the age for

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