Mār. 6.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 663
By the inclusion of the suburban portions the birth-rate is lowered in the case of Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch,
the Dunedin rate being raised. Including these suburban portions, it will be observed that Wellington has the highest rate,
Auckland next highest, Christchurch and Dunedin following.
All of the four metropolitan areas show a decrease in the birth-rate when compared with 1917. The rates for the five years 1914
to 1918 are—
Births per 1,000 of Population.
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland Metropolitan Area | 24·78 | 23·13 | 23·35 | 22·33 | 21·77 |
| Wellington Metropolitan Area | 25·38 | 24·19 | 24·30 | 25·25 | 23·15 |
| Christchurch Metropolitan Area | 22·22 | 22·19 | 23·54 | 22·96 | 20·22 |
| Dunedin Metropolitan Area | 21·70 | 20·73 | 23·32 | 22·47 | 18·69 |
DEATHS AND DEATH-RATES.
The total number of deaths registered in the four metropolitan areas during 1918 was 6,460—viz., 4,554 in the cities,
and 1,906 in the suburban portions.
The death-rates for 1918 are abnormal on account of the influenza epidemic of the last quarter.
By including the suburban portions the death-rate is lowered in the case of all four metropolitan areas. The rates
for the year are—
Death-rates per 1,000 of Population.
| Auckland City | | | | | 21·40 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland Metropolitan Area | | | | | 18·07 |
| Wellington City | | | | | 16·59 |
| Wellington Metropolitan Area | | | | | 15·71 |
| Christchurch City | | | | | 17·15 |
| Christchurch Metropolitan Area | | | | | 15·47 |
| Dunedin City | | | | | 16·40 |
| Dunedin Metropolitan Area | | | | | 16·20 |
The death-rates for the metropolitan areas for the five years 1914 to 1918 are—
Deaths per 1,000 of Population.
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland Metropolitan Area | 9·42 | 9·05 | 9·58 | 10·45 | 18·07 |
| Wellington Metropolitan Area | 10·47 | 9·71 | 9·45 | 9·37 | 15·71 |
| Christchurch Metropolitan Area | 9·58 | 9·01 | 10·77 | 11·04 | 15·47 |
| Dunedin Metropolitan Area | 10·22 | 11·03 | 11·73 | 11·58 | 16·20 |
If the number of deaths of infants under one year be excluded, the mortality among the rest of the population is
found to have been for 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918 in the following ratio to the 1,000 living :—
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland Metropolitan Area | 8·19 | 7·39 | 8·39 | 9·29 | 16·81 |
| Wellington Metropolitan Area | 8·59 | 8·19 | 8·06 | 8·14 | 14·06 |
| Christchurch Metropolitan Area | 8·25 | 7·80 | 9·28 | 10·14 | 14·41 |
| Dunedin Metropolitan Area | 9·25 | 9·23 | 10·70 | 10·93 | 15·34 |
The degree of infantile mortality is perhaps best shown in the proportion of deaths of children under one year of age
to every 100 births. For 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918 the proportions at the chief centres were—
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland Metropolitan Area | 5·76 | 7·17 | 5·92 | 6·10 | 5·77 |
| Wellington Metropolitan Area | 8·26 | 6·28 | 6·51 | 5·65 | 7·12 |
| Christchurch Metropolitan Area | 6·82 | 5·42 | 6·67 | 4·93 | 5·28 |
| Dunedin Metropolitan Area | 5·43 | 7·23 | 5·47 | 4·02 | 4·60 |
Again, the percentage of deaths of children under five years to the total number of deaths is—Auckland, 11·47;
Wellington, 15·11; Christchurch, 10·73; Dunedin, 8·27.
Excluding suburban portions, and dealing with the deaths at all ages in the four cities only, the figures for five years are as
follows:—
Deaths per 1,000 of Population.
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland City | 10·43 | 9·99 | 11·10 | 12·36 | 21·40 |
| Wellington City | 10·73 | 10·02 | 9·73 | 10·05 | 16·59 |
| Christchurch City | 10·02 | 9·58 | 11·14 | 12·13 | 17·15 |
| Dunedin City | 11·00 | 11·58 | 12·37 | 12·23 | 16·40 |
Omitting the deaths of infants under one year, and calculating the rate on the population of one year of age and
upwards, the rate for the last five years are as follows:—
Deaths per 1,000 of Population, excluding Infants under One Year of Age.
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland City | 9·14 | 8·38 | 9·60 | 11·02 | 20·07 |
| Wellington City | 8·72 | 8·73 | 8·26 | 8·73 | 14·90 |
| Christchurch City | 8·64 | 8·53 | 9·87 | 11·22 | 16·23 |
| Dunedin City | 10·00 | 10·23 | 11·29 | 11·58 | 15·54 |
Subjoined is a table showing the rates of infant mortality in the four cities for each of the past five years, together
with the means of those years:—
Deaths of Children under One Year to every 100 Births.
| | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. | Mean of Five Years. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Auckland City | 6·30 | 8·08 | 7·41 | 7·11 | 6·11 | 7·00 |
| Wellington City | 8·87 | 6·24 | 6·91 | 6·30 | 7·58 | 7·18 |
| Christchurch City | 7·59 | 5·62 | 6·48 | 5·01 | 5·19 | 5·98 |
| Dunedin City | 5·81 | 7·88 | 5·80 | 4·19 | 5·08 | 5·75 |
Census and Statistics Office,
Wellington, N.Z., 28th February, 1919.
MALCOLM FRASER,
Government Statistician.