The CSO today released the Vital Statistics Third Quarter 2012 report.
Some of the key points highlighted in the report are as follows:
In total, there were 17,985 births registered in quarter 3 of 2012, a decrease of 6.4% in the number of births registered in the corresponding quarter of 2011. The quarter 3 2012 total is 13% higher than in quarter 3 2003 when 15,909 babies were registered.
Births in the third quarter of 2012 represented an annual birth rate of 15.7 per 1,000 of the population. The rate for the corresponding quarter of 2011 was 16.8 per 1,000 of the population and 16.0 per 1,000 of the population in quarter 3 2003.
There were no births registered as being within civil partnerships in quarter 3 2012.
Of the 17,985 births, there were 6,250 births registered as outside marriage/civil partnership. This accounted for 35% of all births. Of these, 3,535 births were to unmarried parents with the same address, (20% of all births). The highest percentage of births outside marriage/civil partnership occurred in Limerick City at 56%, while the lowest percentage occurred in Galway County, at 22%.
The average age of mothers for births registered in quarter 3 2012 was 32 years, 0.3 years more than the corresponding figure in quarter 3 2011, 0.9 years more than in quarter 3 2007, and 1.4 years more than in quarter 3 2003. The average age of mothers having their first child in quarter 3 2012 was 30 years.
There were 6,825 deaths registered in quarter 3 2012, a decrease of 1.2% in the number of deaths registered in the third quarter of 2011. The quarter 3 2012 total represents a death rate of 6.0 per 1,000 of the population, the same rate as the corresponding quarter of 2011. Quarter 3 of 2003 was 0.7 per thousand of the population higher, with a rate of 6.7 per thousand of the population.
For those aged 65 and over, the annual death rate was 38.3 per 1,000 of the population (5,257 deaths). This compares with a rate of 39.9 per 1,000 of the population for the corresponding quarter of 2011, a decline of 4%. The decrease in this rate since 2003 was 18% .
There were 79 infant deaths registered in quarter 3 2012 giving an infant mortality rate of 4.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. The corresponding rate in quarter 3 2011 was 3.4 per 1,000 live births and was 5.3 per 1,000 live births in quarter 3 2003. The number of neonatal deaths (deaths of infants at ages under 4 weeks) in quarter 3 2012 was 61, 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Almost one third (32.3%) of all deaths in the quarter were attributed to circulatory disease (2,204), while a further 31.1% were attributed to malignant neoplasms (2,120), 10.5% to respiratory diseases (719) and 5.9% to external causes (402).
The natural increase in the population (births minus deaths) for quarter 3 2012 was 11,160. This represents a rate of 9.7 per 1,000 of the population, 1.1 per 1,000 of the population lower than quarter 3 of 2011.
There were 7,765 marriages registered in quarter 3 2012, an increase of 227 from the number of marriages registered in quarter 3 2011 and a decrease of 231 from the number registered in the corresponding quarter of 2003.
There were 104 civil partnerships registered in quarter 3 2012. The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, came into effect on the 4th January 2011.
Vital Statistics Third Quarter 2012 is available on our website Vital Statistics Third Quarter 2012 (PDF 182KB)
For more information contact Carol Anne Hennessy on 021 453 5161 or Maria Crowley on 021 453 5016.
Central Statistics Office 28 February 2013
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