H.—3l

32

Besides advantages of climate, New Zealand possesses a population younger in age-constitution than that of most other countries —conditions favourable to a low rate of mortality. Another table is given comparing death-rates at twelve age-periods for 1909 with those of England and Wales. Here the extremely low rate of mortality among children under five years of ,age is remarkable, and the difference at some of the groups at the more advanced ages is considerable. The New Zealand rate for males is higher than that for females at all groups excepting 5-10, 10-15, 35-45 ; while for England and Wales the female rate is greater than that for males at 5-10 and 10-15 years, and is lower in every other instance.

Death-rate per 1,000 Persons living, according to Sex, for the Year 1909, compared with England and Wales.

Index of Mortality in New Zealand for 1911.

A similar calculation for the States of the Australian Commonwealth has been made for 1910. The results, when compared with the actual rates, exhibit to what degree the age-constitution of the population affects the death-rate. The figures for New Zealand are also given. Year 1910. Index. Actual. New South Wales ... ... ... ... ... 12-36 9-89 Victoria ... ... ••• ••• ■•■ ••• 1411 11-49 Queensland... ... ... ... ... ... 12-44 9-71 South Australia ... ... ... ... ... 12-39 10-21 Western Australia ... ... ... ... ... 13-31 10-11 Tasmania ... ... ... ••• ... ... 1359 11-10 NewZealand ... 12-04 9-71

Deaths per 1,001 Persons living. Ages. New Zealand. England and Wales. Males. Females. Males. Females. Under 5 years .. 5 years and under 10 years 10 „ 15 „ 15 „ 20 „ 20 „ 25 „ 25 „ 35 „ 35 „ 45 „ 45 „ 55 „ 55 „ 65 „ 65 „ 75 „ 75 „ 85 „ 85 and upwards All ages 20-7 1-9 1-3 2-6 3-2 4-4 6-6 10-3 19-5 43-2 127-2 236-2 10-2 16-7 2-02 14 1-8 2-9 4-4 6-9 8-9 15-9 41-7 92-2 202-5 8-1 40-3 |3-2 11-9 2-8 3-7 5-3 9-1 16-4 32-8 73-5 141-8 321-4 15-4 33-2 3-3 2-0 2-6 3-1 4-4 7-4 13-0 25-7 61-4 129-9 300-0 13-7

Ages. Estimated Mean Population, 1911. Number of Deaths, 1911. Death- Percentage of Index of rate Population Mortality in per 1,000, of Sweden, 1890 NewZealand 1911. (Standard). per 1,000. Under 1 year 1 and under 20 years ... 20 and under 40 years 40 and under 60 years 60 years and upwards ... 24,560 382,311 365,972 170,807 71,246 1,484 1,029 1,465 1,650 3,906 6042 2-69 400 966 54-82 2-55 39-80 26-96 19-23 11-46 1-54 107 1-08 1-86 6-28 Totals 1,014,896 9,534 9-39 10000 11-83