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Volume 31, 1898
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Art. LXVII.—A Comparison of the General Mortality in New Zealand, in Victoria and New South Wales, and in England.

By C. E. Adams, B.Sc., A.I.A., Engineering Scholar and Engineering Exhibitioner, Canterbury College, and Senior Scholar, New Zealand University; formerly Lecturer on Applied Mathematics, Canterbury Agricultural College.

[Read before the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, 11th October, 1897]

Plates LX. and LXI.

In a former paper on colonial mortality* the results relating to New Zealand were submitted. It is proposed to compare the general rates of mortality of this colony with those prevailing in New South Wales and Victoria and in England. It has often been stated that New Zealand is the healthiest place in the world: a cursory examination of the diagrams and tables herewith will fully bear out this statement. In every case New Zealand is in the lead. In Tables I. and II. are given the numbers surviving to each year of age out of ten thousand born alive. In New Zealand 9,033 males survive the first year, in New South Wales and Victoria only 8,672 survive, and in England only 8,414 survive. For females the results are better in each case, still, however, leaving New Zealand in the front; they are—in New Zealand, 9,183; in New South Wales and Victoria, 8,832; and in England, 8,713 survive the first year out of ten thousand born alive. Starting so well, it is but natural that this colony should maintain its position throughout the other years of life, which it does, for at age 75 the survivors are 2,663, 1,828, and 1,450 males respectively, and 3,349, 2,437, and 1,906 females respectively. Tables I. and II. are shown graphically in Plate LX.

It may be argued that because this colony starts so well with infant mortality the advantage may mask a possible

[Footnote] * An Investigation into the Rates of Mortality in New Zealand during the Period 1881–91 “(Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxix., p. 52).

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deterioration at some subsequent year of life. For instance, taking the figures for males at 30 and 31 years—

Age. New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England.
30 7,897 7,221 6,300
31 7,851 7,165 6,241

—it does not follow immediately that the year of age 30–31 is most favourable in the first country. To ascertain which provides the best chance of life it is necessary to know the number surviving the year out of the same number at risk for the year in each case. Thus, if instead of 7,897, 7,221, and 6,300 at age 30 there are ten thousand at this age in each country, then 9,941, 9,922, and 9,906 would survive the year. Hence at this particular age New Zealand again ranks first. Tables III. and IV., shown graphically in Plate LXI, have been prepared to bring out the comparison at each age. For the ages 16 and 17 (Males—Table III.) New South Wales and Victoria are as healthy as New Zealand, but at no other age are those colonies so healthy; while at ages 12, 13, 14, and 16 (Females—Table IV.) New South “Wales and Victoria reach. New Zealand's high level; and at age 15 females in New South Wales and Victoria have a better chance of living a year than those in New Zealand. At only one age is the mortality in England so light as in any of the colonies under discussion—at age 67 (Males—Table III.), where the English mortality is lighter than New South. Wales and Victoria, but not so light as New Zealand.

The figures for New Zealand are taken from the paper previously referred to. Those for New South Wales and Victoria were compiled by W. R. Dovey, F.F.A., whose paper, “The Rates of Mortality in New South Wales and Victoria,” was published in the Sydney Record, June, 1893, and relates to the period 1881—91. Another investigation into the mortality of New South Wales and Victoria, by A. Duckworth, for the same period—1881–90—it was not possible to use, as the sexes are not separated. The English figures for lx are from the last English life-table, No. IV. (J.I.A., vol. 29, p. 30), and are for the period 1871–80. The values of px were specially calculated, as they are not given in the English, table.

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Table I.
lx (Males).
X New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England. X New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England.
0 10,000 10,000 10,000 40 7,376 6,585 5,631
1 9,033 8,672 8,414 41 7,315 6,510 5,553
2 8,869 8,368 7,902 42 7,252 6,432 5,473
3 8,801 8,257 7,637 43 7,185 6,352 5,392
4 8,757 8,180 7,466 44 7,116 6,270 5,309
5 8,720 8,120 7,341 45 7,044 6,185 5,224
6 8,686 8,077 7,268 46 6,967 6,096 5,137
7 8,655 8,044 7,211 47 6,886 6,004 5,048
8 8,627 8,015 7,163 48 6,802 5,908 4,958
9 8,604 7,989 7,123 49 6,715 5,808 4,865
10 8,584 7,966 7,090 50 6,625 5,706 4,770
11 8,566 7,945 7,061 51 6,533 5,599 4,673
12 8,548 7,925 7,036 52 6,439 5,488 5,570
13 8,530 7,906 7,012 53 6,342 5,372 4,465
14 8,511 7,885 6,988 54 6,239 5,253 4,357
15 8,490 7,865 6,964 55 6,131 5,129 4,247
16 8,465 7,841 6,937 56 6,015 5,001 4,134
17 8,437 7,815 6,907 57 5,893 4,869 4,017
18 8,405 7,785 6,875 58 5,763 4,732 3,898
19 8,370 7,751 6,839 59 5,625 4, 591 3,776
20 8,331 7,713 6,800 60 5,481 4,447 3,650
21 8,290 7,673 6,758 61 5,836 4,299 3,521
22 8,247 7,629 6,713 62 5,187 4,147 3,388
23 8,202 7,584 6,668 63 5,031 3,993 8,253
24 8,157 7,536 6,620 64 4,869 3,833 3,114
25 8,112 7,488 6,571 65 4,697 3,671 2,972
26 8,069 7,437 6,520 66 4,504 3,498 2,826
27 8,026 7,385 6,468 67 4,299 3,318 2,678
28 7,984 7,332 6,414 68 4,085 3,131 2,528
29 7,941 7,277 6,358 69 3,864 2,942 2,375
30 7,897 7,221 6,300 70 3,642 2,759 2,221
31 7,851 7,165 6,241 71 8,430 2,574 2,065
32 7,803 7,107 6,181 72 8,229 2,386 1,910
33 7,754 7,048 6,118 73 3,035 2,199 1,754
34 7,704 6,987 6,054 74 2,848 2,012 1,601
75 2,663 1,828 1,450
35 7,652 6,926 5,989
36 7,601 6,862 5,921
37 7,547 6,797 5,852
38 7,492 6,729 5,780
39 7,435 6,658 5,707
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Table II.
lx (Females).
X Now Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England. x New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England.
0 10,000 10,000 10,000 40 7,498 6,775 5,961
1 9,183 8,832 8,713 41 7,436 6,702 5,892
2 9,028 8,529 8,205 42 7,375 6,628 5,821
3 8,964 8,425 7,934 43 7,314 6,553 5,749
4 8,922 8,352 7,754 44 7,254 6,477 5,676
5 8,889 8,294 7,626 45 7,193 6,399 5,602
6 8,860 8,253 7,557 46 7,132 6,320 5,526
7 8,833 8,221 7,503 47 7,069 6,240 5,449
8 8,811 8,192 7,456 48 7,004 6,158 5,370
9 8,791 8,169 7,417 49 6,938 6,074 5.290
10 8,773 8,147 7,384 50 6,869 5,988 5,209
11 8,757 8,128 7,354 51 6,794 5,900 5,126
12 8,739 8,110 7,327 52 6,716 5,810 5,042
13 8,721 8,093 7,301 53 6,634 5,719 4,956
14 8,701 8,074 7,276 54 6,548 5,626 4,870
15 8,678 8,054 7,250 55 6,458 5,530 4,774
16 8,652 8,031 7,221 56 6,365 5,430 4,674
17 8,624 8,004 7,190 67 6,267 5,326 4,570
18 8,592 7,974 7,156 58 6,164 5,217 4,461
19 8,557 7,940 7,119 59 6,055 5,102 4,347
20 8,521 7,902 7,079 60 5,941 4,983 4,228
21 8,483 7,865 7,036 61 5,824 4,861 4,105
22 8,443 7,824 6,991 62 5,702 4,735 3,976
23 8,402 7,780 6,945 63 5,574 4,605 3,843
24 8,360 7,735 6,898 64 5,439 4,472 3,705
25 8,316 7,686 6,849 65 5,296 4,333 3,562
26 8,271 7,634 6,798 66 5,134 4,175 3,413
27 8,225 7,582 6,747 67 4,962 3,996 3,260
28 8,177 7,528 6,694 68 4,780 3,809 3,102
29 8,129 7,472 6,640 69 4,592 3,619 2,939
30 8,079 7,416 6,584 70 4,401 3,429 2,772
31 8,029 7,358 6,527 71 4,210 3,237 2,602
32 7,977 7,299 6,470 72 4,015 3,041 2,429
33 7,923 7,239 6,410 73 3,811 2,842 2,255
34 7,868 7,178 6,350 74 3,592 2,640 2,080
75 3,349 2,437 1,906
35 7,810 7,116 6,288
36 7,750 7,052 6,226
37 7,688 6,985 6,161
38 7,625 6,917 6,096
39 7,562 6,847 6,029
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Table III.
lx (Males).
x New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England. X New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England.
0 09033 0.8672 0.8414 40 0.9917 0.9886 0.9861
1 0.9818 0.9649 0.9391 41 0.9913 0.9881 0.9857
2 0.9924 0.9868 0.9665 42 0.9909 0.9876 0.9851
3 0.9950 0.9907 .0.9775 43 0.9904 0.9871 0.9846
4 0.9958 0.9927 0.9832 44 0.9899 0.9864 0.9840
5 0.9961 0.9948 0.9901 45 0.9891 0.9856 0.9834
6 0.9964 0.9959 0.9921 46 0.9885 0.9849 0.9827
7 0.9968 0.9964 0.9933 47 0.9878 0.9840 0.9820
8 0.9973 0.9968 0.9945 48 0.9872 0.9831 0.9813
9 0.9977 0.9972 0.9953 49 0.9866 0.9824 0.9805
10 0.9979 0.9974 0.9960 50 0.9862 0.9812 0.9796
11 0.9979 0.9975 0.9964 51 0.9856 0.9802 0.9781
12 0.9979 0.9975 0–9966 52 0.9848 0.9789 0.9770
13 0.9977 0.9975 0.9966 53 0.9839 0.9778 0.9759
14 0.9975 0.9974 0.9965 54 0.9826 0.9765 0.9746
15 0.9971 0.9970 0.9961 55 0.9812 09751 0.9783
16 0.9967 0.9967 0.9958 56 0.9797 0.9736 0.9719
17 0.9962 0.9962 0.9953 57 0.9780 0.9718 0.9704
18 0.9958 0.9957 0.9948 58 0.9761 0.9704 0.9686
19 0.9954 0.9952 0.9943 59 0.9748 0.9685 0.9667
20 0.9950 0.9947 0.9937 60 0.9786 0.9668 0.9646
21 0.9948 0.9943 0.9934 51 0.9720 0.9647 0.9624
22 0.9946 0.9940 0.9932 62 0.9700 0.9627 0.9600
23 0.9945 0.9938 0.9929 63 0.9677 0.9600 0.9573
24 0.9944 0.9935 0.9926 64 0.9649 0.9578 0.9544
25 0.9947 0.9932 0.9923 65 0.9589 0.9528 0.9511
26 0.9947 0.9930 0.9920 66 0.9545 0.9484 0.9476
27 0.9947 0.9928 0.9917 67 0.9501 09436 0.9437
28 0.9946 0.9925 0.9913 68 0.9459 0.9399 0.9396
29 0.9945 0.9924 0.9910 69 0.9426 0.9378 0.9350
30 0.9941 0.9922 0.9906 70 0.9418 0.9327 0.9301
31 0.9939 0.9919 0.9903 71 0.9414 0.9273 0.9246
32 0.9937 0.9917 0.9899 72 0.9401 0.9215 0.9187
33 0.9935 0.9914 0.9895 73 0.9382 0.9152 0.9124
34 0.9933 0.9912 0.9892 74 0.9353 0.9084 0.9056
35 0.9932 0.9908 0.9887
36 0.9929 0.9905 0.9883
37 0.9927 0.9900 0.9878
38 0.9925 0.9895 0.9873
39 0.9920 0.9891 0.9867
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Table IV.
px (Females).
x New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England. New Zealand. New South Wales and Victoria. England.
0 0.9183 0.8832 0.8713 40 0.9917 0.9893 0.9884
1 0.9831 0.9658 0.9417 41 0.9918 0.9889 0.9880
2 0.9929 0.9877 0.9669 42 0.9918 0.9886 0.9877
3 0.9953 0.9913 0.9774 43 0.9917 0.9884 0.9873
4 0.9964 0.9930 0.9835 44 0.9916 0.9880 0.9869
5 0.9967 0.9951 0.9910 45 0.9915 0.9877 0.9865
6 0.9970 0.9961 0.9928 46 0.9912 0.9873 0.9861
7 0.9974 0.9966 0.9938 47 0.9909 0.9869 0.9856
8 0.9978 09971 0.9948 48 0.9905 0.9863 0.9851
9 0.9980 0.9974 0.9955 49 0.9900 0.9858 0.9846
10 0.9981 0.9977 0.9960 50 0.9892 0.9853 0.9841
11 0.9980 0.9978 0.9963 51 0.9885 0.9848 0.9836
12 0.9979 0.9979 0.9965 52 0.9878 0.9842 0.9831
13 0.9977 0.9977 0.9965 53 0.9870 0.9838 0.9825
14 0.9974 0.9974 0.9964 54 0.9863 0.9830 0.9804
15 0.9970 0.9971 09961 55 0.9856 0.9820 0.9791
16 0.9967 0.9967 0.9957 56 0.9846 0.9809 0.9776
17 0.9963 0.9962 0.9953 57 0.9835 0.9795 0.9761
18 0.9960 0.9958 0.9949 58 0.9824 0.9780 0.9745
19 0.9957 09953 0.9944 59 0.9811 0.9767 0.9727
20 0.9956 0.9952 0.9939 60 0.9803 0.9754 0.9708
21 0.9953 0.9948 0.9936 61 0.9790 0.9741 0.9687
22 0.9951 0.9945 0.9934 62 0.9776 0.9726 0.9665
23 0.9950 0.9941 0.9932 63 0.9758 0.9710 0.9641
24 0.9948 0.9937 09929 64 0.9738 0.9690 0.9613
25 0.9946 0.9933 0.9926 65 0.9694 0.9637 0.9583
26 0.9944 0.9931 0.9924 66 0.9664 0.9570 0.9551
27 0.9942 0.9929 0.9922 67 0.9633 0.9531 0.9515
28 0.9941 0.9926 0.9919 68 0.9607 0.9503 0.9476
29 0.9939 0.9925 0.9917 69 0.9585 0.9474 0.9433
30 0.9937 0.9922 0.9914 70 0.9566 0.9440 0.9386
31 0.9935 0.9920 0.9911 71 0.9537 0.9394 0.9336
32 0.9933 0.9918 0.9909 72 0.9492 0.9344 0.9283
33 0.9930 0.9915 0.9906 73 0.9424 0.9291 0.9224
34 0.9927 0.9913 0.9903 74 0.9323 0.9233 0.9162
35 0.9923 0.9910 0.9900
36 0.9920 0.9905 0.9897
37 0.9918 0.9903 0.9894
38 00917 0.9899 0.9890
39 0.9916 0.9896 0.9887
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