H.—3l.

StiU-births (Number and Rate) in New Zealand, 1932-36. Total Number Rate of StillYear, of StiU-births births per 1,000 registered. Live Births. 1932 .. .. .. .. .. .. ..746 30-0 1933 .. .. .. .. .. •• ..722 29-7 1934 .. .. .. .. .. .. ..687 28-3 1935 .. .. .. .. .. •• ..738 30-8 1936 .. .. .. .. •• •• ..732 29-5 (Note. —Still-births are not included, either as births or deaths, in the various numbers and rates given elsewhere in this report.) The Principal Causes of Death. The following table gives the main causes of death during the year and the actual number of deaths therefrom, and also the death-rates per 10,000 of mean population for each of the last five years : —

As the percentage of persons in the later decades of life is steadily increasing in New Zealand, and as it is in these later decades that the death-rate is highest, the crude death-rates given above do not indicate the true trend of the death-rate. It is not safe to use such rates for comparative purposes over a period of years, nor for comparison with the death-rates of other countries. Only one country (England and Wales) publishes standardized rates for a number of causes of death, and therefore it is the only country with which true comparisons may be made. For this purpose standardized rates have been calculated for a number of the causes of death in New Zealand for the sexes separately. The standardized rates given in the table below are based upon the age distribution of persons of undistinguished sex in the general population of England and Wales in 1901. The rates shown for the two sexes and for different years are directly comparable one with another, and also with those given for England and Wales. The latter have been abstracted from the published returns of the Registrar-General for England and Wales. It is to be expected that in New Zealand, with its favourable climate and the absence of huge aggregations of population in cities and of large industrial areas, the general death-rate should be much lower than in England and Wales. It will be noticed, however, that in regard to some of the causes of death shown, New Zealand has little, if any, superiority, and in some cases has a higher rate. A survey of the table will show that more than half the difference in the rates for each sex is accounted for by lower rates in New Zealand for diseases of the respiratory system, the common infectious diseases, and tuberculosis of the respiratory system.

2—H. 31.

9

1936. 1935. 1934. 1933. 1932. Cause. Number. Rate. Rate. Rate. Rate. Rate. Heart Disease (all forms) .. .. 3,646 24-43 23-27 22-67 21-12 20-15 Cancer .. .. .. .. 1,762 11-81 11-15 11-50 11-07 10-11 Violence 864 5-79 5-24 5-71 5-61 6-37 Chest Disease (total) .. .. .. 877 5-88 4-79 5-05 4-42 5-23 Pneumonia 401 2-69 1-61 1-73 1-65 1-91 Pneumonia (secondary to influenza), 102 0-68 0-22 0-38 0-34 0-35 Whooping-cough, and Measles Bronchitis 202 1-35 1-34 1-47 1-21 1-42 Broncho-pneumonia .. .. .. 241 1-61 1-62 1-47 1-23 1-55 Tuberculosis (all forms) .. .. .. 680 4-56 3-88 4-20 4-16 4-22 Kidney or Bright's Disease .. .. 591 3-96 3-55 3-79 3-82 3-98 Apoplexy or Cerebral Hemorrhage .. 760 5-09 4-85 4-94 4-62 4-20 Diseases of the Arteries .. .. .. 446 2-99 2-95 2-57 2-80 3-05 Senility .. .. .. .. 381 2-55 2-38 3-09 2-30 3-01 Diabetes .. .. .. .. 238 1-59 1-52 1-69 1-56 1-57 Hernia and Intestinal Obstruction.. .. 99 0-66 0-67 0-65 0-76 0-65 Diseases and accidents of childbirth (maternal 92 0-62 0-68 0-80 0-74 0-69 mortality) Appendicitis .. .. .. .. 119 0-80 0-72 0-78 0-74 0-69 Diarrhoea and Enteritis .. .. .. 60 0-40 0-55 0-39 0-41 0-47 Epilepsy .. .. .. .. 49 0-33 0-29 0-35 0-28 0-28 Common Infectious Diseases. Influenza (all forms, including Pneumonia) .. 140 0-94 0-74 1-26 0-70 0-46 Diphtheria .. .. .. .. 20 0-13 0-22 0-18 0-18 0-27 Whooping-cough .. .. .. 47 0-32 0-28 0-27 0-12 0-30 Scarlet Fever .. .. .. .. 8 0-05 0-05 0-05 0-03 0-04 Typhoid . .. •■ 8 0-05 0-07 0-01 0-04 0-05 Measles :. 3 0-02 0-01 0-31 0-12 0-05 I