More deaths and fewer births during third quarter of 2016

The number of births fell 4 per cent year-on-year during the third quarter of 2016, while the number of deaths rose by the same amount.

The latest Vital Statistics figures from the Central Statistics Office show the highest percentage of births outside marriage or civil partnership was in Limerick City at 61.3 per cent, while the lowest was in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown at 22.8 per cent.

There were 16,458 births during quarter three of 2016, which was 670 fewer births compared with the same period in 2015. This corresponds to a birth rate of 14.1 per 1,000 population, a decrease of 0.7 from the same period the previous year.

There were 7,129 deaths during the third quarter of 2016, which was an increase of 4.1 per cent, or 278 deaths, from the year before. This equates to a death rate of 6.1 per 1,000 population, or an increase of 0.2.

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There were 49 infant deaths registered, giving an infant mortality rate of three per 1,000 live births.

Despite the year-on-year increase in deaths and decrease in births, the State’s population increased by 9,329 individuals.

The average age of mothers was 32.6 years, which was 0.2 years older than the year before. First-time mothers were an average of 30.8 years old, also up 0.2 years from the same period the previous year.

Outside marriage

There were 10,402 (63.2 per cent) births registered as within marriage, five of which were in civil marriages. There were 6,056 births registered as outside marriage or civil partnership, accounting for 36.8 per cent of all births during the quarter.

In terms of deaths, diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 2,118, or an annual rate of 1.8 per 1,000 population. Of these, 1,018 were due to ischaemic heart disease (coronary artery disease) and 407 to cerebrovascular disease.

With regard to cancers, there were 2,297 deaths from malignant neoplasms. This is equivalent to an annual rate of 2 per 1,000 population.

Deaths from pneumonia numbered 214; chronic lower respiratory disease accounted for 323, while another 228 people lost their lives due to other respiratory diseases.

There were 358 deaths due to accidents, suicides and other external causes. Accidents accounted for 66.8 per cent (239) of these deaths, while suicides accounted for 30.2 per cent (108). Of these over two-thirds were male.

The leading cause of death varied widely by age group.

External causes

Among adults aged 15 to 44, external causes of death including accidents and suicide ranked first (141 deaths).

Among individuals aged 45-84, cancers were the leading cause, while for those aged 85 and older it was diseases of the heart and arteries.

There were 5,717 deaths of persons aged 65 and over. This represents an annual death rate of 36.6 per 1,000 population aged 65 and over, and represents an increase of 0.4 when compared with the corresponding quarter of 2015.

The number of marriages registered was 8,440, of which 371 were same-sex marriages. This is equivalent to an annual marriage rate of 7.2 per 1,000 population. The estimated population in April 2016 was 4,673,700.