Deaths rise as number of births in Ireland continues to fall

The average age of mothers for all births registered last year was 33.2 years, compared to 31.9 a decade ago. Picture: Pexels

The number of births in Ireland per year has fallen by a fifth in the last decade, with the average age of first-time mothers standing at 31.5 years.

In 2022, there were 57,540 births recorded and 35,477 deaths, according to the Central Statistics Office bulletin on “vital statistics” for the year.

There were 12,869 births and 8,149 deaths registered in Ireland in Quarter 4 2022 but HSE cyber-attack affects comparability with previous quartershttps://t.co/jcPvly6sYa#CSOIreland #Ireland #VitalStatistics #VitalStats #Births #Deaths #Marriages #IrishBabiesNames pic.twitter.com/JTzS89kHTS

— 🎄Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) May 26, 2023

The birth rate of 11.3 per 1,000 population contrasts with a figure of 15.7 per 1,000 in 2012. The average age of mothers for all births registered last year was 33.2 years, compared to 31.9 a decade ago.

By area, births recorded in the area of Cork City Council were lower than the national rate at nine per 1,000, while this figure was 9.6 per 1,000 in Kerry, 11.5 per 1,000 in Limerick and 10.9 per 1,000 in Waterford.

The CSO said 798 teenagers had babies in 2022, which was a rise of 99 from the year before. Of these, 19 were under the age of 16. There were 5,137 births recorded in mothers aged 40 and over, with 384 recorded for those aged 45 and over.

More than two in five babies (43%) were born outside of marriage or civil partnerships, while Irish mothers accounted for 76% of births.

The number of deaths recorded in 2022 was far higher than 2012, up by a fifth from 28,848 a decade ago to 35,477 in 2022.

In 83% of the deaths recorded, the person was aged 65 years or over, the CSO said.

There were 191 infant deaths registered last year, giving an infant mortality rate of 3.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Two in three deaths were due to cancers, diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the respiratory system.

Deaths due to accidents, suicide or other external causes made up 4.2% of all deaths recorded. Of the suicides recorded last year, 80% were in males.

The CSO added: “Covid-19 was responsible for 1,848 deaths registered and of these, 1,374 were aged 75 years and older.

“The natural increase (births minus deaths) in 2022 was 22,063, which was 13% lower than the natural increase of 25,388 in 2021.” 

Furthermore, there were 23,173 marriages registered in 2022. This was a large increase on the 17,217 recorded the previous year, with the lifting of covid restrictions fully at the beginning of last year a potential reason.

Of the marriages recorded last year, 618 were same-sex marriages, the CSO said.