Birth rate slows in first part of 2012
A total of 19,313 babies were born in the first three months of this year, according to official statistics released today.
This represented an annual birth rate of 16.9 per 1,000 population, according to the The rate for the corresponding quarter of 2011 was 17.5.
Fingal recorded the highest birth rate of 21.3, while Monaghan recorded the lowest birth rate of 12.1.
Some 6,929 births, 36% of all births, registered as outside marriage.
Of these, 3,966 births were to unmarried parents with the same address, 20.5% of all births.
The highest percentage of births outside marriage occurred in Limerick City at 56%, while the lowest percentage occurred in Leitrim at 21%.
A total of 7,693 births (40%) were to first-time mothers. Second-time mothers had 6,610 births (34.4%).
The average age of mothers for births registered in this period was 31.8 years, while the average age of mothers having their first child was 29.9 years.
There were 7,979 deaths registered in quarter 1 2012, a decrease of 1.4% compared to the first quarter of 2011.
Almost one third (32%) of all deaths in the quarter were attributed to circulatory disease (2,541), while 29% were attributed to malignant neoplasms (2,343), 14% to respiratory diseases (1,123) and 5% to external causes (379).
There were 61 infant deaths registered in the period, giving an infant mortality rate of 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. The corresponding rate in quarter 1 2011 was 3.6.
The number of neonatal deaths (deaths of infants at ages under 4 weeks) in quarter 1 2012 was 45, or 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.
There were 2,827 marriages registered in quarter 1 2012, 225 less than the corresponding quarter of 2011.
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