Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1966-1967 — Page 59

Deaths Registered

167. Table XXXVI gives the numbers of deaths registered in the years 1957 to 1966 by sex and race, with the relevant percentages and the crude death and infant mortality rates. The number of deaths registered in 1966 was, as compared with 1965, up by 1,079 to 18,700 (54.50% being of males, 45.48% being of females, and 0.02% being of unknown sex), comprising 18,395 Chinese (9,992 males, 8,400 females and 3 of unknown sex) and 305 non-Chinese (199 males and 106 fe- males). The crude death rate accordingly rose from 4.8 to 5.0, which is the lowest rate of any country in the world shown on the World Population Data Sheet for 1966 (see paragraph 154), and compares with an estimated 16 for the whole world. While once again due tribute must be paid to the efficiency of the Colony's medical and health services, it must be acknowledged that this exceptionally low rate to a large extent results from the age structure of the population, which contains an abnormally high proportion of younger people. The infant mortality rate went up 1.2 from 23.7 to 24.9 per thousand of live births.

168. Table XXXVII gives the numbers of deaths registered by district in 1964, 1965 and 1966. It shows that of the 18,700 deaths in 1966, 5,553 (29.7%) were on Hong Kong Island, 11,639 (62.2%) in Kowloon and New Kowloon, and 1,508 (8.1%) in the New Territories. Table XXXVIII gives the number of registered deaths by age group during the five years 1962 to 1966.

169. In relation to the statistics in Table XXXVIII it is advisable to repeat the warning given in previous reports. 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. There is, moreover, no doubt but 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 uncommon in public announcements to add one month to the age for every year of the deceased's true age. The District Registrars, however, use their best endeavours to ascertain the correct age, and the figures given for the various groups are thought to be pretty fair approximations.

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