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Births, Deaths and Marriages in Quarter 1 2005

 
Quarter 1
 
2004
2005
Births
15,599
15,334
Average age of mothers (all births)
30.7
30.9
Average age of mothers (first births)
28.3
28.6
Marriages
2,676
2,909
Population
3,978,900
4,043,800

Average age of mothers continues to rise


The average age of mothers for births registered in Quarter 1 2005 was 30.9 years, an increase of 0.2 years on Quarter 1 2004. For mothers having their first child, the average age was 28.6 years, 0.3 years higher than the corresponding Quarter 1 2004 figure.


These figures are contained in the Central Statistics Office's Vital Statistics First Quarter 2005 report.


The average age of mothers has risen by almost a year in the last decade. In Quarter1 1996 the average age of mothers was 30.0 years, 0.9 years less than the most recent figure. See Table 1 of report.


The oldest mothers were in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, with an average age of 32.7 years. The youngest mothers were in Cork City, with an average age of 29.1 years. See Table 4 of report.


There were 15,334 births registered in quarter 1 2005, a decrease of 265 on the quarter 1 2004 figure. This corresponds to a birth rate of 15.2 per 1,000 population.


Over two in five (41.3%) births were to first time mothers. Just over one-third of births (33.6%) were outside marriage. See Table 3 of report.


The report also shows that 7,352 deaths were registered in quarter 1 2005, 521 less than quarter 1 2004. This works out as a death rate of 7.3 per 1,000 population.


Over 4 in every 5 deaths were from either diseases of the circulatory system (38%), cancer (26%), or diseases of the respiratory system (17%). There were 2,818 deaths due to circulatory diseases (which include heart disease and stroke), 1,906 deaths due to cancer, and 1,247 deaths due to respiratory diseases. See Table 8 of report.


There were 2,909 marriages registered in Quarter 1 2005, 233 more than in Quarter 1 2004.

Vital Statistics First Quarter 2005 is priced at €6.00 and is available on our website www.cso.ie.


Hard copies available from the:
Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork,
Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2,
or through any bookseller.


For more information contact Joseph Keating (LoCall 1890 313 414 ext 5121).
Internet address: www.cso.ie


6 October 2005


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