Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1968, Blaðsíða 163

Public Health in Iceland 1968. — A Summary.
1. Climatic Conditions: The mean temperature was 1.5° (C) under
the average. The precipitation was 8% above the average.
In the year 1968 the Icelandic economy experienced the second year
of serious setback caused by a drastic fall in fish catches and export
prices as shown by a 45 per cent fall in export revenue of the main ex-
port products over the years 1967/68. In November 1968 the Icelandic
krona was devalued by 35.2 per cent following a devaluation of 24.6
per cent in the previous year.
The Gross National Product decreased by 6 per cent in total volume
and by 7.2 per cent per capita. The volume of gross output from
fisheries and fish processing decreased by 18 per cent, agricultural
production by 3 per cent and construction activity by 5 per cent, but
industrial production increased by 1.6 per cent. Imports of goods and
services decreased by 6.6 percent and exports by 4.6 per cent. The
external current accounts showed a deficit of 2.615 mill. I.kr.
In the year 1968 wage rates rose by 6 per cent on the average but
as the cost of living rose by 13 per cent, real wages fell by 6.4 per cent
and the purchasing power of disposable earnings decreased by 5.8 per
cent for married workers and seamen. Private consumption decreased
by 5.2 per cent in total volume and fixed asset formation by 8.7 per
cent. Hospital buildings amounted to 186 mill. I.kr. and had increased
by 12.7 per cent from the previous year.
2. Population, Births and Deaths. The population was on December
lst 1968 202191 including Reykjavík 81026 (1967: 199920 and 80090).
The estimated midyear population was 201244 (198674). The marriage
rate was 8.4 (8.6), the live birth rate 21.0 (22.2) and the death rate 6.9
(7.0) per 1000 inhabitants. The infant mortality rate was 14.0 (13.4)
per 1000 born alive.
3. Causes of Deaths are shown on pp. 63—75. The following ten are
the most common(cf. p. 77).
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