Figures released by the Registrar General last week show that the number of babies born to unmarried teenagers last year was higher than statistics from the previous three years.

The Registrar General's annual report, which was tabled in the House of Assembly last week, showed that, out of 313 babies born out of wedlock in 2001, 87 of them, or 28.7 per cent, were born to teenagers.

This compares with 24.5 percent in 2000, 26.8 percent in 1999 and 19.5 percent in 1998. In 1997 however, the proportion was an astonishing 31.7 percent.

Figures for the four years prior to 1997 show that year to have been an aberration, as the percentages hovered around the mid-to-low twenties, with 22.7 percent in 1996, 22.7 percent in 1995, 24.3 percent in 1994 and 23.6 percent in 1993.

Another outstanding statistic showed a massive disparity in the proportion of out of wedlock births that occurred last year between residents of different parishes.

While most parishes had proportions between 28 and 46 percent, including Pembroke (45.9 percent), Sandys (45.3 percent), Devonshire (43.2 percent), Paget stands out alone with the much lower figure of 6.9 percent, while Smith's was the next lowest with 28.3 percent.

Statistics for other years show both Paget and Smith's to be consistently low in this area. However, Paget proportion for last year was lower than it had been for 1999 (28.3 percent), 1998 (21.5 percent) and 1997 (18.3 percent).

On hearing these statistics yesterday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brenda Davidson said: "I would that was due to differences in population density and that it is perhaps income related also."