The number of births and deaths are counted from mid year to mid year (beginning of July to the end of June the following year). This is so the data is consistent with the mid year population estimates prepared annually by the Office for National Statistics, (c) Crown Copyright 2012.
Deaths
Death rates seem to fluctuate in Shropshire from year to year, however over the long-term the number of deaths annually has risen. This may reflect the baby boomers of the first world war reaching ages of over 70 and the baby boomers of the second world war reaching retirement age. Shropshire has an age structure weighted towards the older age groups which may explain the rise in the number of deaths.
To view or download a graph showing the trends in the number of deaths in the county please select the link on this page entitled trends from 1990 to 2007 in births and deaths in Shropshire by gender.
The number of female deaths in Shropshire annually has fluctuated with a gradual increase between 1990 and 1996, two sharp increases in 1998-1999 and 2001-2003 and then has declined from 2004 to 2006 before increasing again in 2007 to 1,597 deaths. During the period 1990 to 2007, the lowest number of female deaths was 1,502 in 1990 and the highest was 1,733 deaths in 2003.
In contrast the number of male deaths annually has remained lower and reasonably constant with some small fluctuations (1,431 in 1992 to 1,443 in 2001). The number of male deaths annually peaked in 1993 at 1,560. Between 2004 and 2007 the number of male deaths has shown a slight decrease from 1,449 to 1,411.
The greatest disparity between male and female deaths annually was in 1998 and 1999 and 2003, with female deaths outnumbering male deaths considerably. In 2007, Shropshire experienced the third highest difference in gendered death rates from 1990 to the present, with 186 more deaths of females than males. The smallest differences were in 1990 and 1993 (five more men and fifteen more women respectively). These trends in male and female deaths reflect the longer life expectancy of the female population and the top heavy age structure of the Shropshire population.
Life expectancy
The Office for National Statistics published life expectancy statistics for 2007 to 2009 and found that in Shropshire women are predicted to live longer than men. Life expectancy at birth in 2007 to 2009 in Shropshire is 78.8 years for men and 82.6 years for women; ranked within 404 local areas in the United Kingdom, Shropshire's male life expectancy at birth is ranked 165th and the female life expectancy has a rank of 185th. In comparison, life expectancy at birth in 2007 to 2009 for the West Midlands region was 77.5 years for males and 81.9 years for females and in the UK was 77.9 years for males and 82.0 years for females.
The Office for National Statistics' period projections for England and Wales, based on 2008 based principal projections, show that by 2030 life expectations at birth will have increased to 83.1 years for men (an increase of 5.2 years from 2008's expectation of 77.9) and 86.7 years for women (an increase of 4.8 years from 2008's expectation of 81.9).
The Office for National Statistics' cohort projections for England and Wales, based on 2008 based principal projections, show that by 2030 life expectations at birth will have increased to 91.5 years for men (an increase of 2.7 years from 2008's expectation of 88.8) and 94.8 years for women (an increase of 2.4 years from 2008's expectation of 92.4).
Life expectancy statistics and projections are produced by the Office for National Statistics, (c) Crown Copyright, 2012.
Summary
To summarise, there have been 52,742 new births and 55,480 deaths in Shropshire between 1990 and 2007. This means that if population growth relied solely on natural change the impact would have been a decline in population of 2,738 people due to fewer new births than deaths.
As the population has not declined since 1991, the growth must be attributable to the impact of migration. For Shropshire this means migrants moving into the county between 1990 and 2007 must have outnumbered migrants leaving the county to live elsewhere. A good indication of migration levels into the county comes from the 2001 census.
Further information is available on births and deaths in Shropshire in the information sheet entitled p03-0027 live births and deaths.
Please follow the link on this page to the National Statistics website for information on national and regional trends in births and deaths.
Please note that many of the facts and figures available on these pages relate to the administrative area covered by the council and therefore, exclude Telford and Wrekin. For information on Telford and Wrekin please select the link on this page.