[Report 1913] / Medical Officer of Health, West Bromwich County Borough.

  • West Bromwich (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1913] / Medical Officer of Health, West Bromwich County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/50 (page 5)
    VITAL STATISTICS. The population of the Borough, as estimated to June, 1913, is 69,088, showing an estimated increase of 332 in the year. An enquiry was received from the Registrar-General in December, 1913, asking for information which would test the accuracy of a new formula proposed to be used in certain large areas to more accurately estimate the population in post-censal years. This formula gave the population for West Bromwich as 69,738, instead of the figure given above. An endeavour was made to arrive at the population by means of the natural increase since the census (viz., 2,026) and the excess of emigra¬ tion over immigration, but the only figures available were those obtained from statements which Head Teachers received from their scholars, and gave no information as to the number of other members of the family or the actual number of families moving in and out. For instance, the total number of admissions (come to reside in the Borough) was 1,203, and the total number of removals (left the Borough) was 2,121, giving an excess of removals of 918. There were no records available of the number of times two or more children of a family were admitted together or the number of other members of the family, and hence nothing but the roughest estimate could be formed of the excess of emigration over immigration or vice-verm. During 1914 the School Attendance Officers are endeavouring- to obtain for me more reliable information, on which to base a fairly accurate estimate, and in the meantime the old factor has remained in use, though probably it underestimates the population to a slight extent. During the past year 2,107 births were registered in the Borough, 14 of which, mainly occurring in the Workhouse, have been transferred to the districts in which the mothers usually reside, while one birth was transferred from outside to this district. The net number of births is, therefore, 2,094, the birth rate being 30.3 per 1,000 of the population. This is an increase of 1.4 per 1,000 on last year and is .9 in excess of the average of the last five years (1909-13), which is 29.4 per 1,000. The distribution of the births is referred to later on, under the report on Infant Mortality. Population Births