BRITAIN’S POPULATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24296, 13 May 1940, Page 4

BRITAIN’S POPULATION

WOMEN IN MAJORITY „ OVER A MILLION “ SURPLUS ” (From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON, Apl. 9. Women outnumbered men by 1,631,000 in England and Wales in the middle of 1938. Boys were more numerous than girls in every age group until 15. At the age of 20. however, girls were in a majority. Their sex kept this majority throughout all subsequent groups, so that all the surplus women were of marriageable age. Giving these facts in his statistical review of England and Wales for 1938, the Registrar-general estimates the mid-year population at 41,215,000 (19,792,000 males, 21,423,000 females). Of the surplus women, more than half lived in south-east England, the larger proportion in Greater London. For the south-east as a whole there were 7,660,800 females and 6,829,600 males, or an excess of 831,200 females. In Greater London females totalled 4,621,400 and males 4,078,600. Wales, in contrast to other districts, had more males than females, the totals being 1,235,700 and 1,230,100. Further evidence of the longevity of women is given in the record of deaths for the year, for of the 109 who reached the age of 100 or more, 93 were women (17 spinsters. 76 widows). New low records established during the year were the standardised death rate, the mortality of infants under one year, the mortality from infectious and parasitic diseases, and maternal mortality. Infant mortality at 53 per 1000 live births is four per thousand below the previous record. Live births registered numbered 621,204. a rate of 15,1 per thousand persons living, which is 0.2 above that for 1937.