Highlights of the Registrar General's Department Annual Report for the year 1953

• At the 31^st of December 1953, the island of Jamaica was divided into 320 separate districts, each in charge of a Registrar, for the purpose of effecting the registration of births and deaths as they occur. In 214  of those districts the Registrar of Births and Deaths was also the Postmistress in charge of the local Post Office
• There were in the island at the 31^st December, 1953, 522 duly appointed Marriage Officers (representing 72 different religious denominations operating in this Colony) and 14 Civil Registrars of Marriages
• The denomination with the largest number of Marriage Officers was the Church of England in Jamaica with 74, followed by the Roman Catholic with 55 and the Baptists with 53
• The total number of registrations effected during 1953 was as follows:-Figures for the previous two years are shown for comparison)

• Of the 51,217 registrations of births, 79 were re-registrations of persons, who had been legitimated since birth and who were granted re-registration under Section 49A of the Registration (Births and Deaths) Law Chapter 121
• During the year 22,635 searches were made in the Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages and in the Civil Status Records of Marriages, Baptisms and Burials prior to 1880; 24357 certified copies of these entries were made
• Other registrations during 1953 was as follows:-

1953 Vital Statistics

Population

• The estimated population at 31^st December, 1953 was 1,503,030 comprising 731,737 males and 771,293 females
• The mean population for the year was 1,486,100
• The male population increased during the year by 15,745 persons and the female population by 15,661
• The male net emigration was 2,435 and female net emigration was 1,848
• An estimate of the numbers of persons in the various age groups of the population for 1953 shows a total of 333,800 children aged 5-14 years and a total of 696,800 (46.61% of the entire population) under 20 years

Births

• Number and Rates
• The total births registered in Jamaica in 1953 was 51,131. This showed an increase of 2,661 over 1952 when the total registered was 48,470
• The birth rate per 1,000 population was 34.41
• Male births outnumbered female births by 25,886 to 25,245 there being 1,025 male births to every 1,00 female births
• The highest birth rates per 1,000 population was recorded in the parishes of St. Andrew (41.1), St. Elizabeth (35.6), Westmoreland (35.5), Clarendon (35.), St. James (34.9) and St. Catherine (34.1)
• The lowest birth rates per 1,000 population were recorded in St. Thomas (27.9), Portland (31.4) and St. Mary (31.8). In all other parishes the rates were not below 32 per 1,000 and not above 34 per 1,000
• Illegitimacy
• Of the total births registered 36,253 (70.9 percent) were illegitimate. The illegitimate proportion in the previous year was 70.1 so that 1953 showed an increase in this figure
• Of the 38,412 illegitimate births 1,266 were registered with fathers

 

• Births in Institution
• Of the total births registered 11,611 (22.71 percent) occurred in public or private hospitals or other institutions, while the remaining 39,520 took place in private homes. In this respect Kingston was different from other parishes, since 94.62 percent of births in Kingston took place in hospitals-the great majority (7,738) in the Victoria Jubilee Hospital and 471 in various private hospitals
• Multiple Births
• There were 1,183 births described as twins during 1953 and 30 were registered as triplets
• The living first born of multiple births came from a total of 595 separate twin maternities and 6 cases of triplets
• Among the 1,183 of live-born twins, males numbered 557 and females 626
• In the 595 separate twin maternities, there were 392pairs of like sex (182 twin males; 210 twin females) and 203 pairs of unlike sex
• Ages of Parents
• In 1953, the average age of mothers was 26.69 years
• There were 4 mothers aged 13, 59 aged 14 and 209 aged 15
• 201 mothers claimed to have passed their 45^th and 18 to have passed their 50^th birthdays
• Of the mothers 14,677 were married with an average age of 30.60 years; the remainder were unmarried mothers and their average age was 25.09 years
• From the available data on joint age of parents it appeared that among married couples the highest number of births occurred to those where the males aged 30-34 and the females 25-29
• In the case of unmarried unions the highest number of births was found among those where the males aged 25-29 and females 20-24
• Occupation of Parents
• The occupation of the husbands of the mothers who were married, showed the largest to be farmers, proprietors and managers (6,071), followed by agricultural labourers (1,724), carpenters (824), merchants and shopkeepers (599), book-keepers, cashiers, clerks and typists (592), tailors (357), police and armed forces (313), motor vehicle drivers (271), masons (271)band boot and shoemakers (266)
• The 1,250 mothers of illegitimate children with registered fathers were described principally as domestic servants (928), agricultural labourers (189) and dressmakers (82). 16 were described as engaging in home duties 
• The 34,596 mothers of illegitimate children with no fathers registered descried principally as domestic servants (20,310), agricultural labourers (4201), dressmakers (2,336), farmers, proprietors and managers (335), higglers (268) factory workers other than dressmakers (209) and clerks and typists (157)

Deaths

• Numbers Registered and Numbers Occurring
• The number of deaths registered in 1953 was 15,442 as compared with 16,717 in 1952
• The annual death rate was 10.39 per 1,000 population 
• The highest death rates were recorded in the parishes of St. James (12.6) deaths per 1,000 of population), Hanover (12.4), St. Catherine (11.6), Westmoreland (11.4) and St. Elizabeth (11.0)
• The lowest death rates were recorded in Kingston (7.8), St. Ann (8.4) and St. Andrew (9.4)
•  All parishes except Clarendon (10.8) in 1953 as against (10.6) in 1952 showed an improved death rate over 1952
• Place of Occurrence 
• 4,446 deaths occurred in institutions, this being 28.79 percent of total deaths. These included 3,172 in the various hospitals of the island, 946 n Alms Houses, Poor Houses or Infirmaries, 202 in the Mental Hospital, 113 in Private Hospitals and 13 in other institutions 
• Infant Deaths
• Deaths of infants aged under one year numbered 3,280
• Infant mortality rate was 64.15 per 1,000 live births
• Of the total number of infant deaths, 1,412 took place below the age of one month 
• Deaths of all ages
• The median age of persons dying was 42.0 years for males and 45.6 years for females
• Conjugal Condition
• Of the 4,963 male persons who died at ages 10 and over, 2,451 were bachelors and 2,447 were or had been married, while in 65 cases no statement of conjugal condition was made
• Of the married persons who died 1,876 were husbands and 1,084 were wives 
• Deaths of widows numbered 1,395 and of widowers 571. Remarriage of widows numbered 240 and of widowers 440

Marriages

• The total number of marriages which took place in 1953 under the Marriage Law, Chapter 237 was 7,123
• There was one marriage registered by the Protector of Immigrants under the Indian Immigrants Marriage, Divorce and Succession Law, Chapter 157
• The marriage rate per 1,000 of population in 1953 was 4.79
• The parishes with the greatest rates were St. Andrew (6.48 per 1,000) followed by Kingston (6.34 per 1,000) and Manchester (4.97)
• The parishes with the lowest rates were Hanover (3.70), St. James (3.81), Portland (3.83), Trelawny (3.97) and Elizabeth (3.98)
• The denomination with the highest number of marriages was Episcopalian (1,273). Next in order were the Baptist (1,135), Presbyterian (540), Roman Catholic (424), Adventist (358) and Moravian (217)
• Ages of Persons Marrying
• Bridegrooms to the number of 64 and brides to the number of 789 were aged under 21, representing respectively 0.9 percent of bridegrooms and 11.7 percent of brides
• 8 brides were aged under 16 
• The average age of bachelors marrying was 34.53, of widowers re-marrying 51.29 years and of divorced men re-marrying was 45.28 years The average age of spinsters marrying was 29.93 years, of widows remarrying 44.41 years and of divorced women remarrying 37.11 years
• The average age at marriage was very similar to 1952 when the average age of bridegrooms was 35.37 years and of brides 30.16 years
• During 1953 the commonest unions were those among persons where the bridegroom was aged 25-29 and the bride aged 20-24
• Literacy of Persons Marrying
• 18.21 percent of all bridegrooms and 12.78 percent of all brides signed the register by making a mark, being unable to write their names. These proportions were very similar to 1952 when the percentage of bridegroom was 18.28 and brides12.76
• The proportion signing by mark was highest for both males in St. Elizabeth and for females in Westmoreland, while it was lowest for males and females in Kingston 
• Addition to Married Population
• The effect of the marriages registered in 1953 was to add 14,246 persons to the married population. However, as against the addition of 7,123 marriages, 2,960 marriages were dissolved by death, 1,084 by death of wife and 1,876 by death of husband. A further 237 marriages were dissolved by divorce
• Apart from changes due to movement into and out of the island there were 7,852 more married persons at the end of the year than at the beginning