Summary

The sources of data for the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency originate with the registrations of birth, death, and marriage. These are based on information provided to the Agency by parents, physicians, midwives, coroners, funeral directors, religious representatives, and marriage commissioners. This information is used by the Agency to register vital events, to issue certificates of birth, death and marriage, and to produce statistical reports. This information is of particular interest to health-care planners, managers, and service providers; it assists in the analysis of trends and the development of service plans for the future.

In the last half of the twentieth century, as the population of British Columbia tripled, demographic and social changes had significant impacts on vital events. Provincial rates for marriages, fertility, and births fell to about half the rates seen in 1950, while mortality rates declined by nearly a third. The most striking change was a dramatic decline in infant mortality.

• There were 41,739 live births to B.C. residents in the province in 1999. This represented a decrease of 2.6% from 42,856 live births in 1998. The 1999 live birth rate of 10.4 per 1,000 population was the lowest since 1950, and was less than half of the rates seen five decades ago.

• Based on provincial Total Fertility Rates (TFR), the average woman in 1999 would have 1.4 live births in her lifetime, the lowest fertility rate in recent years. This is a significant decrease from the peak in 1959, when the average woman would have had 4.0 live births in her child bearing years.

• In 1999, there were 156 infant deaths (age at death less than one year) in the province for an infant mortality rate of 3.7 per 1,000 live births, a record low rate for British Columbia. This was a decrease from 174 infant deaths in 1998. Infant mortality rates in B.C. have fallen dramatically to approximately one fifth of the rates seen thirty years ago.

• There were 294 stillbirths to B.C. residents in 1999, an increase from 278 in 1998. The stillbirth rate was 7.0 per 1,000 total births (live births and stillbirths) in 1999. The stillbirth rates have fluctuated widely between 6.2 and 7.5 in the last decade.

• There were 27,794 deaths in British Columbia in 1999, 11 deaths less than the previous year. There were 6.9 deaths per 1,000 population, unchanged since 1997. The death rate has decreased each decade from the 1950s to the 1990s, and has been consistently under 7.3 per 1,000 population since 1985.

• In 1999, the 41,739 live births and 27,794 deaths in B.C. produced a rate of natural population increase of 3.5 per 1,000 population. The natural population increase rate in 1999 was the lowest rate since 1950.

• The 1995-1999 average life expectancy at birth in B.C. was 79.2 years for both genders combined; 76.5 for males and 82.0 for females (Appendix 1).

• There were 21,616 marriages solemnized in the province in 1999. The 1999 marriage rate, 5.4 marriages per 1,000 population, was the same as 1998 and the lowest rate since 1950. In recent decades, there has been a trend towards delaying first marriages. The 1999 average age of first marriage brides was 27.7 years old, while first-marriage grooms were, on average, 29.8 years old. The average age of brides and grooms for first and later marriages combined also increased steadily in the past two decades.