Death rate in Ireland reaches record low

THE plummeting death rate in Ireland reached a historic low in 2004 with 28,665 deaths recorded, the lowest number of deaths ever.

The Central Statistics Office said the drop, down 409 on the previous year, was explained by a combination of increasing life spans and the high number of young people in the population.

The death rate fell to 7.1 deaths per 1,000 population, compared with 7.3 deaths per 1,000 population in 2003.