demographic yearbook annuaire demographique 1951

America, North (continued):
United States
Virgin Islands [U.S.]
America, South:
Chile (births, beginning
1947)
Asia:
Cyprus [U.K.]
India (post-war years)
Japan (births and deaths)
Europe:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
Finland
France
basis are:
Africa:
Egypt
Gold Coast [U.K.]
Southern Rhodesia [U.K.]
South-West Africa
Spanish Guinea
Union of South Africa
America, North:
Barbados [U.K.]
Bermudas [U.K.]
British Honduras
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
(deaths)
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Jamaica [U.K.]
Leeward Islands [U.K.]
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama (before 1943)
Trinidad and
Tobago [U.K.]
America, South:
Argentina
British Guiana
Chile (except births,
beginning 1947)
Colombia
Ecuador
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom:
England & Wales
(beginning 1939)
Yugoslavia
Oceania:
Guam [U.S.]
Hawaii [U.S.]
Countries for which the data are on a date-of-registration
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Asia:
British North Borneo
Ceylon
Hong Kong [U.K.]
Israel
Japan (marriages,
divorces)
Lebanon
Syria
Thailand
Europe:
Germany
Greece (births)
Ireland
United Kingdom:
England & Wales
(before 1939)
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Oceania:
Australia
Cook Islands [N.Z.]
Fiji Islands [U.K.]
New Guinea [Aust.]
New Zealand
Norfolk Island [Aust.]
Western Samoa [N.Z.]
Information is not available for all the areas shown in the
tables, but it seems probable that in most such cases the data
are on a date-of-registration basis. Where the areas involved
are non-self-governing it is likely that the procedures followed
by the administering countries are also followed in
the dependencies.
Some countries furnish preliminary statistics on a date-ofregistration
basis and final statistics on a date-of-occurrence
basis. Where registration is prompt the difference between
the two figures for a given period is negligible. In a few cases
(for example, Italy 1946-1949) the statistics given in one
table differ from those given in another because one set
refers to date of occurrence and the other to date of registration.
The questionnaires submitted by the United Nations to
the national statistical offices for obtaining the data presented
in these tables included enquiries as to the completeness
and accuracy of the vital statistics returned. On the
basis of the replies to these enquiries, supplemented by the
results of a search of relevant official publications, it has
been possible to classify national data into three broad
categories: (1) those stated to represent a complete, or virtually
complete, coverage of the events occurring each year;
(2) those stated to represent an incomplete coverage or to
be subject to considerable irregularity of registration; and
(3) those concerning which no information is available.
The results of this classification have been incorporated
into the tables giving basic vital data in the form of a code
which occupies the first column of the table. These "basic"
tables are the ones presenting total numbers and crude rates
for live births, deaths and marriages, and the table presenting
numbers of divorces. Information on the quality of the
statistics is lacking for a considerable number of areas, but
it is safe to assume that for most of these the reliability is
open to serious question. The symbol " ... " appearing in
the code column should therefore be taken, in general, as a
warning that the accompanying data must be approached
with caution. An examination of the computed or implied
rates for these areas will indicate the cases for which a presumption
of incompleteness is probably justified. However,
this applies only with respect to areas where the data are
markedly deficient. It should be remembered that our
knowledge of "normal" or "reasonable" levels of fertility,
mortality and nuptiality is extremely scanty for many parts
of the world and that borderline cases, which are the most
difficult to appraise, are frequent.
The way in which the classification with respect to reliability
was made precluded the possibility of applying objective
and uniform criteria. In many cases, the basis for the
country's own evaluation of the data was not given. Nevertheless,
it was felt that under the circumstances national
statistical offices were in the best position to judge the quality
of their data and that even the very broad categories
that could be established would be useful in furnishing some
indication of the validity of the statistics presented in this
Yearbook. It is hoped that, in the future, further progress
can be made toward a more uniform, objective and detailed
appraisal of these data.
In the rate tables the reliability code relates specifically
to the vital statistics and not to the population base. However,
the validity of the two components of the rate is interrelated,
particularly where vital statistics have been utilized
in the preparation of the population estimates. A fuller
evaluation of the rates is possible by reference to the coded
information on population estimates presented in table 1.
In the tables dealing with vital statistics, other than those
for which a code is provided, information on completeness
and reliability is given in footnotes wherever the data are
known to be deficient or in some other way defective.
Improvement over the years in the coverage of vital events
through registration is a limiting factor to comparability in
time. Such improvement tends to mask actual trends in the
incidence of birth, death or marriage. For example, a steadily
rising trend in crude birth or crude death rates over the
period covered by the data shown in this Yearbook is almost
30