Health Officer's annual report / the Municipality of George Town, Penang, Straits Settlements.

  • George Town (Pinang). Municipal Health Office.
Date:
[1921]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health Officer's annual report / the Municipality of George Town, Penang, Straits Settlements. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/36 (page 3)
    MUNICIPAL HEALTH OFFICE, Penang, 3rd March, 1922. To THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONERS, Gentlemen, I have the honour to submit the following report on the health of the Municipality during 1921. Population. The Ceusus was taken on 25th April and the population as stated in the preliminary report was 123,187 divided among the various nationalities thus : — TABLE I Nationality. Males. Females. Total. European 656 407 1,063 Eurasian 679 819 1,498 Chinese 50,449 32,153 82,602 Malay 8,523 8,613 17,136 Indian 15,105 4,430 19,535 Others 748 605 1 353 Total 76,160 L 47,027 123,187 The numbers of European males and females, Eurasian females, Indiau females, and males and females of other nationalities were all less than we had estimated. This over-estimate was more than counterbalanced by the increase in Chinese and Malays of both sexes. In the annual report for 1920, referring to the disproportionate increase in the birth rate, compared with the estimated increase in the population, the statement was made that li this . is probably due to an increase in the proportion of females to males.” The Census report makes me doubt the accuracy of this opinion as the proportion of males to females is slightly higher than we estimated in 1920. On the other hand, the Superintendent of Census thinks that “ there is little doubt that in the last four months ” [ i. e. before the Census was taken] “ the depression in the planting industry has driven many agricultural coolies into the towns and swelled the urban at the expense of the country population.” If he is correct, the figures now recorded give an over-estimate of our true adult male population, and for the next ten years our statistics will suffer both in this respect and by giving an under-estimate of the death rate and of the birth rate. The estimated population for the middle of the year is 123,300.