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Press Statement

Preasráiteas

27 November 2020

Press Statement Vital Statistics Quarter 2 2020

The number of deaths increased by 1,063 from 7,519 to 8,582 in Q2 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, an increase of 14.1%
  • There were 1,227 deaths due to COVID-19, accounting for 14.3% (or one-seventh) of deaths in the quarter of which 619 were male and 608 were female
  • Cancer and circulatory disease were the biggest causes of death in Ireland in Q2 2020
  • The number of births continues to fall, with a decrease of 6.0% from Q2 2019
  • Average age of mothers continues to rise; in Q2 2020 the average age of mothers was 33.1 years compared to 33.0 years in Q2 2019 and 31.5 years in the same period 10 years previously
  • More than a third (37.8%) of all births were outside marriage/civil partnership
  • The natural increase (i.e. births minus deaths) has fallen by 28.0% comparable to the same period in 2019

Go to release: Vital Statistics Second Quarter 2020

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (27 November 2020) released the Vital Statistics Quarter 2 2020 Release

Commenting on the release, Carol Anne Hennessy, Statistician, said: ‘The number of deaths comparable to the same period in the previous year has increased by 1,063 or 14.1%. This is the first quarter that deaths due to COVID-19 were registered. There were 1,227 deaths due to COVD-19 in this period accounting for one-seventh of all deaths in the period.

Deaths due to malignant neoplasms (cancer) and circulatory disease accounted for almost 52.8% of all deaths. 

The number of births has fallen by 862 (or 6.0%) from the same quarter in the previous year, down from 14,389 in quarter 2 2019 to 13,527 in 2020. Births to teenage mothers also continue to fall, down from 200 in Q2 2019 to 188 in the current quarter. 

The average age of mothers continues to rise, up 0.1 years to 33.1 from the same quarter in 2019.  

More than a third (37.8%) of all births were outside of marriage/civil partnership, similar to the same quarter a year earlier when 37.9% of births were to mothers outside of marriage.

The natural increase (births minus deaths) in Quarter 2 2020 was 4,945, a decrease of 28.0% on the same period in 2019 when it was 6,870.’

 

For further information contact:

Carol Ann Hennessy (+353) 21 453 5307 or John O Connor (+353) 21 453 5016

or email vitalstats@cso.ie

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