Ireland’s birth rate falls 18% in a decade as fertility rate drops to record low

Births in Ireland have fallen by 18% in a decade, while women are having children later. File picture: PA

Ireland’s birth rate fell by close to a fifth over the past 10 years, according to new statistics released by the CSO.

The total number of births registered in the State dropped from 65,909 in 2015 to 54,125 last year, a decline of 18%.

Over the same period, the country’s fertility rate — a measure of the number of children born to women over their lifetimes — fell from 1.9 to 1.5.

A rate of 2.1 is generally considered the replacement fertility level — the number of children each woman would need to have to maintain a stable population.

Falling fertility rates are a challenge facing developed nations around the world, contributing to issues such as pension funding pressures as older populations increasingly outnumber people of working age.

The CSO figures show that the average age of first-time mothers in Ireland increased by 1.1 years, from 30.7 in 2015 to 31.8 in 2025. The trend mirrors developments across many western countries, with women waiting longer to have their first child.

The change is even more pronounced when compared with 20 years ago, when the average age of first-time mothers was 28.7.

The average age of mothers overall was 33.3 years in 2025, up from 32.5 in 2015 and 31 in 2005.

Deaths increase slightly 

The number of deaths recorded in Ireland in 2025 was 35,587, an increase of 414 compared with 2024.

People aged 65 and over accounted for 83% of deaths — 29,645 in total — last year, a figure likely to rise further as the population continues to age.

Among people aged under 55, the most common causes of death were neoplasms — commonly referred to as tumours — which accounted for 852 deaths. This was followed by injuries and poisoning, which accounted for 631 deaths, and diseases of the circulatory system, which accounted for 477 deaths.

Meanwhile, of the 19,898 marriages registered in 2025, 624 — or 3% — involved same-sex couples.