[Report 1903] / Medical Officer of Health, Cardiff County Borough & Port.

  • Cardiff (Wales). County Borough Council.
Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1903] / Medical Officer of Health, Cardiff County Borough & Port. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/109 (page 11)
    The population of the Borough, according to the Census enumeration of April 1901, amounted to 164,333 persons, being an increase of 27-5 per cent, since the Census of 1891, as compared with an increase of 55 per cent, during the ten years ending April 1891. The population in the middle of the year 1903, estimated in accordance with the methods adopted by the Registrar General, was 172,598, and the birth and mortality rates contained in tliis Report have been calculated on the basis of this estimate. The method adopted b}^ the Registrar General for estimating the population of towns at the middle of each year since the last preceding Census is based on the assumption that the same rate of annual increase has continued as during the decennial period ending at the time of that Census. It is probable therefore that the annual estimates of population in Cai-diff based on the Census of 1901 will be much more accurate than those immediately preceding that year, as they are calculated on the more moderate rate of increase of 27'5 per cent. The estimates of population obtained by this method are of course only appro.ximately true, and they generally exhibit a considerable divergence from the actual truth in the years most remote from the last Census. The extent of this error in connection with the estimated population for Cardiff was considerable, and the result is shown in Table XIV. giving corrected death rates for each year during the intercensal period 1892—1900 based on the revised estimate made since the publication of the Census of 1901. I It will be seen in the note appended to the Table that the population for the middle of the year 1900 was estimated by the Registrar-General at 194,247, whereas, when the enumeration was made at the Census of April in the following year, the number only reached 164,333. It should be mentioned that the relative position of Cardiff with respect to its mortalit}^ was not materially affected by this over-estimate of population, as similar errors occurred in the estimates in most of the large towns. In order to check to some extent the accuracy of this estimate, a local enumeration, based on the number of inhabited houses, is made annually in June under the superintendence of the Medical Officer of Health. This number is multiplied by the aveiage number of inmates per house, as given at the last Census, i.e., 5'8. The results of this enumeration, made in June, 1903, is given below :— TABLE I. ESTIMATED POPULATION—JUNE, 1903. WARDS. Area in Acres. Houses. POPULATION. Inhabited. Vacant. Building. Total. Central . . 473 1,934 420 2,354 11,217 •South 5! a 1,859 88 — 1,947 10,782 Cathays . . 369 3,454 98 50 3,602 20,033 Adamsdown 1,570 2,115 128 — 2,243 12,267 Riverside. . 313 3,114 119 9 3,242 18,061 Canton 449 4,061 111 25 4,197 23,553 Giangetown 1,905 3,401 153 7 3,561 19,725 Roath 766 2,678 121 9 2,808 15,532 Park 533 4.328 82 63 4.473 25,102 Splot 1,454 2,824 128 — 2,952 16,379 Totals 8,351 29,768 1,448 163 31,379 172,651