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Breaking stories
Ireland sees highest baby rate since 1891
By Dan Buckley
Ireland is experiencing a baby boom with the highest birth rate since 1891, according to the CSO.
Although the marriage rate is falling and women are now mostly in their 30s when giving birth, Ireland has the highest fertility rate in the EU.With almost 25% of births to foreign mothers and over one third to single women, the statistics show more children were born in 2009 than in any year for the previous 118.
There were 75,554 births in Ireland in 2009 — the highest number recorded since 1891, when 76,877 children were born.
The number of births represented the fourth consecutive year of annual increases.
The CSO report found that 23% of births in 2009 were to non-Irish mothers. The number of births outside marriage in 2009 was 25,252, or 33.4% of all births. Ireland also had the highest fertility rate of the 27 EU states in that year: 2.1 children per woman compared with the lowest, Latvia, at 1.31 children per woman.
The CSO report states: “This is the fertility rate that must be maintained to replace the population in the absence of migration.”
The report shows women waited until they were older to have children: 25,406 babies were born to women aged 30-34 in 2009. Prior to 1993, the majority of births occurred among women aged 25-29.
The marriage rate, meanwhile, has fallen as the average age of couples getting hitched continues to rise.
The average age of grooms in 2009 was 34, 0.2 years more than in 2008. In the past 50 years, the average age of grooms has shifted from 31.1 in 1959 to a low of 26.2 in 1977 and a high of 34 in 2009.
A similar trend is evident for brides, with the average age decreasing from 27.1 in 1959 to 24 in 1977 and increasing to a high of 31.8 in 2009.
The number of marriages registered in 2009 was 21,627, which equates to a rate of 4.8 per 1,000 of the population. This compares with a total of 22,187 marriages and a marriage rate of five per 1,000 of the population in 2008.
The 2009 marriage rate was the lowest in the state since 1998, when the recorded rate was 4.5 per 1,000 of the population.
There were 6,214 civil marriages registered in 2009, an increase of 17% on the previous year and accounting for just under 29% of all marriages.
The number of Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies was 14,624 in 2009 and accounted for 68% of all marriages in the year, a decrease of four percentage points from the 72% recorded in 2008 and significantly less than the 90% recorded in 1996.
Life numbers
BIRTHS
* In 2009, Thursday, Apr 23 saw the highest number of babies born in one day (276). The lowest number of babies born in one day in the year was Sunday, July 12 (130 babies).
* One third of all births (25,252) in 2009 took place outside of marriage.
* Just over 23% of births in 2009 were to mothers of non-Irish nationality.
* The average number of children per woman is 2.1.
DEATHS
* 28,380 people died in Ireland in 2009. The death rate remained the same in 2009 from 2008: 64 deaths per 1,000 of the total population.
* There were 552 suicides in 2009, an increase of 9% on 2008. Men accounted for 80% of suicides.
* 33.5% of the deaths recorded in 2009 werecirculatory related,neoplasms (tumours)accounted for 30% and respiratory diseases accounted for 12.7%.
MARRIAGES
* August was the most popular month for marriage in 2009, when 13% of marriages occurred.
Marriages in July, August, and September accounted for 38%.
January continued to be the least popular month for marriage ceremonies, with almost 4% occurring during that month.
* 6,214 civil marriages were registered in 2009, an increase of 17% on the previous year.
* The percentage of Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies has fell from 90% in 1996 to 68% in 2009.
* The average age of grooms in 2009 was 34. The average age of brides was 31.8.