This chapter contains statistics on births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and babies' names which are compiled by the Central Statistics Office on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection. Data for births and deaths from 2011 to 2014 are final. Data for 2015 and 2016 is provisional and subject to change. All marriage data and babies' names are final.
1.1 Births by age of mother at maternity | |||||||||||||
Total births | Births outside marriage/civil partnership | ||||||||||||
Age | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
15 and under | 36 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 42 | 20 | 36 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 41 | 20 | |
16-19 | 1,654 | 1,589 | 1,352 | 1,201 | 1,145 | 1,078 | 1,504 | 1,432 | 1,187 | 1,055 | 1,017 | 946 | |
20-24 | 7,321 | 6,890 | 6,390 | 5,955 | 5,732 | 5,216 | 5,904 | 5,572 | 5,273 | 4,924 | 4,697 | 4,241 | |
25-29 | 16,693 | 15,308 | 13,903 | 13,126 | 12,403 | 11,378 | 7,892 | 7,593 | 7,227 | 7,343 | 7,047 | 6,479 | |
30-34 | 26,764 | 26,028 | 25,385 | 24,662 | 23,856 | 23,004 | 5,956 | 6,314 | 6,347 | 6,419 | 6,397 | 6,395 | |
35-39 | 17,726 | 17,819 | 17,892 | 18,191 | 18,527 | 18,808 | 2,992 | 3,313 | 3,367 | 3,624 | 3,745 | 4,111 | |
40-44 | 3,658 | 3,792 | 3,778 | 3,887 | 3,978 | 4,098 | 775 | 863 | 862 | 922 | 975 | 1,080 | |
45 and over | 169 | 215 | 226 | 248 | 224 | 295 | 28 | 63 | 63 | 77 | 70 | 76 | |
Age not stated | 12 | 6 | – | – | 2 | – | 4 | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | |
All ages | 74,033 | 71,674 | 68,954 | 67,295 | 65,909 | 63,897 | 25,091 | 25,179 | 24,353 | 24,389 | 23,990 | 23,348 | |
Source: CSO |
Interactive table: StatBank link
There were 63,897 births registered in 2016, 2,012 fewer births compared with 2015. There were 23,348 births registered as being outside marriage, accounting for 36.5% of all births. Over 65% of the 63,897 births registered in 2016 were to women aged between 30 and 39.
1.2 Deaths classified by cause and rates, per 100,000 population | |||||||||||||
Total deaths | Death rate per 100,000 population | ||||||||||||
Cause of death | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
Infectious and parasitic diseases | 235 | 223 | 245 | 296 | 366 | 379 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 8.1 | |
Malignant neoplasms | 8,666 | 8,571 | 8,725 | 9,022 | 8,783 | 9,023 | 189.4 | 186.9 | 190.0 | 195.7 | 189.5 | 193.1 | |
Diseases of the circulatory system | 9,236 | 9,480 | 9,473 | 8,852 | 9,249 | 9,206 | 201.9 | 206.7 | 206.2 | 192.0 | 199.5 | 197.0 | |
Diseases of the respiratory system | 3,438 | 3,497 | 3,504 | 3,492 | 3,793 | 3,856 | 75.1 | 76.3 | 76.3 | 75.8 | 81.8 | 82.5 | |
Diseases of the digestive system | 1,048 | 1,158 | 1,069 | 1,040 | 956 | 1,027 | 22.9 | 25.3 | 23.3 | 22.6 | 20.6 | 22.0 | |
External causes of injury and poisoning | 1,693 | 1,577 | 1,491 | 1,530 | 1,439 | 1,344 | 37.0 | 34.4 | 32.5 | 33.2 | 31.0 | 28.8 | |
of which: | |||||||||||||
Suicide | 554 | 541 | 487 | 486 | 451 | 399 | 12.1 | 11.8 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 9.7 | 8.5 | |
Other | 4,140 | 4,680 | 4,997 | 5,020 | 5,366 | 5,555 | 90.5 | 102.1 | 108.8 | 108.9 | 115.8 | 118.9 | |
Total deaths | 28,456 | 29,186 | 29,504 | 29,252 | 29,952 | 30,390 | 622.0 | 636.6 | 642.4 | 634.6 | 646.2 | 650.2 | |
Source: CSO |
Interactive table: StatBank link
There were 30,390 deaths registered in 2016. Of these, malignant neoplasms and diseases of the circulatory system accounted for just under 60% of all deaths.
1.3 Summary data for marriages 2012-2016 | |||||||||||||||
Opposite sex marriages | Same sex marriages | All marriages | |||||||||||||
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | |||||||
State | 20,713 | 20,680 | 22,045 | 22,025 | 21,570 | 91 | 1,056 | 22,116 | 22,626 | ||||||
Marriages per 1,000 population | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 0.02 | 0.2 | 4.8 | 4.8 | ||||||
Average age of party 11 | 34.7 | 34.9 | 35.0 | 35.3 | 35.7 | 42.8 | 43.6 | 35.3 | 36.1 | ||||||
Average age of party 22 | 32.6 | 32.8 | 33.0 | 33.2 | 33.8 | 37.6 | 37.9 | 33.2 | 34.0 | ||||||
Percentage of marriages by age of party 11 | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | ||||||
Under 20 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | ||||||
20-24 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 1.8 | ||||||
25-29 | 21.8 | 20.0 | 19.7 | 18.5 | 16.2 | 5.5 | 8.1 | 18.4 | 15.8 | ||||||
30-34 | 39.8 | 41.0 | 40.5 | 39.7 | 39.6 | 18.7 | 16.8 | 39.6 | 38.6 | ||||||
35-39 | 18.8 | 19.0 | 19.7 | 20.6 | 22.3 | 23.1 | 18.0 | 20.6 | 22.1 | ||||||
40 and over | 16.6 | 17.0 | 17.3 | 18.4 | 19.5 | 51.6 | 55.9 | 18.5 | 21.2 | ||||||
Percentage of marriages by age of party 21 | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | ||||||
Under 20 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 | ||||||
20-24 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 5.8 | 4.0 | 3.0 | ||||||
25-29 | 31.3 | 29.4 | 28.7 | 27.2 | 25.3 | 19.8 | 16.6 | 27.1 | 24.9 | ||||||
30-34 | 38.7 | 39.7 | 39.5 | 40.4 | 40.8 | 26.4 | 24.0 | 40.4 | 40.0 | ||||||
35-39 | 13.6 | 14.7 | 14.8 | 15.1 | 17.0 | 17.6 | 16.3 | 15.1 | 17.0 | ||||||
40 and over | 10.5 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 13.3 | 34.1 | 37.2 | 12.3 | 14.4 | ||||||
Form of ceremony | |||||||||||||||
Roman Catholic | 13,497 | 12,921 | 13,072 | 12,486 | 12,140 | – | – | 12,486 | 12,140 | ||||||
Church of Ireland | 433 | 453 | 445 | 393 | 372 | – | – | 393 | 372 | ||||||
Presbyterian | 84 | 72 | 81 | 73 | 69 | – | – | 73 | 69 | ||||||
Methodist | 19 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 27 | – | – | 26 | 27 | ||||||
Jewish | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | ||||||
Spiritualist Union of Ireland | – | – | 819 | 822 | 965 | – | 73 | 822 | 1,038 | ||||||
Other religious | 883 | 1,112 | 538 | 804 | 972 | 3 | 36 | 807 | 1,008 | ||||||
Civil marriages | 5,797 | 6,096 | 6,167 | 6,156 | 5,588 | 87 | 850 | 6,243 | 6,438 | ||||||
Humanist Association | – | – | 895 | 1,264 | 1,437 | 1 | 97 | 1,265 | 1,534 | ||||||
Country of future residence outside Republic of Ireland | 2,065 | 2,316 | 2,668 | 2,845 | 2,930 | 6 | 122 | 2,851 | 3,052 | ||||||
Northern Ireland | 318 | 319 | 432 | 421 | 477 | 3 | 28 | 424 | 505 | ||||||
England and Wales | 925 | 947 | 1,058 | 1,117 | 1,175 | – | 41 | 1,117 | 1,216 | ||||||
Scotland | 64 | 80 | 74 | 97 | 99 | – | 2 | 97 | 101 | ||||||
Europe (remainder) | 148 | 152 | 157 | 150 | 155 | – | 17 | 150 | 172 | ||||||
U.S.A | 176 | 198 | 192 | 214 | 227 | 1 | 11 | 215 | 238 | ||||||
Elsewhere | 434 | 620 | 755 | 846 | 797 | 2 | 23 | 848 | 820 | ||||||
Not stated | – | 1 | – | 1 | 3 | – | – | 1 | 3 | ||||||
Percentage of marriages with country of residence | |||||||||||||||
outside Republic of Ireland | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | ||||||
10.0 | 11.2 | 12.1 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 6.6 | 11.6 | 12.9 | 13.5 | |||||||
1Party 1 refers to the groom in the case of opposite sex marriages and refers to the older party in the case of same sex marriages. | |||||||||||||||
2Party 2 refers to the bride in the case of opposite sex marriages and refers to the younger party in the case of same sex marriages. | |||||||||||||||
Source: CSO |
Interactive table: StatBank link
There were 22,626 marriages in 2016 including 1,056 same-sex marriages. This is 510 more than 2015, when 22,116 marriages were registered. The average age of brides and grooms continues to rise. In 2016, the average age of party 1 (Groom) and party 2 (Bride) in opposite sex marriages was 35.7 years and 33.8 years respectively, the highest recorded to date. The average age of party 1 (older party) in same sex marriages was 43.6 years and party 2 (younger party) was 37.9 years.
X-axis label | % |
---|---|
Roman Catholic | 53.7 |
Civil Marriages | 28.5 |
Humanist Association | 6.8 |
Spiritualist Union | 4.6 |
Other Religious | 4.9 |
Church of Ireland | 1.6 |
1.4 Same Sex marriages celebrated in each county and city during 2016 classified by form of ceremony | |||||
Form of ceremony | |||||
Province, county or city | Civil marriages | The Humanist Association | The Spiritualist Union of Ireland | Other religious denominations | Total |
Total | 850 | 97 | 73 | 36 | 1,056 |
Leinster | 612 | 68 | 58 | 20 | 758 |
Carlow | 7 | – | 2 | – | 9 |
Dublin City | 440 | 25 | 9 | 7 | 481 |
South Dublin | – | 1 | 3 | – | 4 |
Fingal | 4 | 2 | 6 | – | 12 |
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
Kildare | 23 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 45 |
Kilkenny | 18 | 2 | – | – | 20 |
Laois | 6 | 1 | – | – | 7 |
Longford | – | – | – | – | – |
Louth | 21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
Meath | 13 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 32 |
Offaly | 5 | – | 1 | – | 6 |
Westmeath | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
Wexford | 28 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 37 |
Wicklow | 39 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 57 |
Munster | 140 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 184 |
Clare | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Cork City | 54 | 2 | – | 1 | 57 |
Cork County | 10 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 28 |
Kerry | 13 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 21 |
Limerick City | 36 | – | – | – | 36 |
Limerick County | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 3 |
North Tipperary | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | 5 |
South Tipperary | 7 | 1 | 1 | – | 9 |
Waterford City | 8 | – | – | – | 8 |
Waterford County | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
Connacht | 57 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 69 |
Galway City | 6 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
Galway County | 27 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33 |
Leitrim | 4 | – | – | – | 4 |
Mayo | 7 | 1 | 2 | – | 10 |
Roscommon | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
Sligo | 11 | – | 1 | – | 12 |
Ulster (part of) | 41 | 2 | 2 | – | 45 |
Cavan | 12 | 1 | – | – | 13 |
Donegal | 28 | 1 | – | – | 29 |
Monaghan | 1 | – | 2 | – | 3 |
Regaional Authorities | |||||
Border | 77 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 85 |
Midland | 15 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 25 |
West | 42 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 53 |
Dublin | 448 | 34 | 19 | 8 | 509 |
Mid-East | 75 | 26 | 25 | 8 | 134 |
Mid-West | 41 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 50 |
South-East | 75 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 94 |
South-West | 77 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 106 |
Source:CSO |
There were 1.056 Same Sex marriages celebrated in 2016 of which 606 were male unions and 450 female unions. The most popular form of ceremony for same sex marriages was a civil marriage ceremony, which accounted for 850 marriages (80.5%) followed by The Humanist Association of Ireland with 97 (9.2%) ceremonies. There were 73 (6.9%) Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremonies while the remainder of couples (3.4%) chose other religious ceremonies.
1.5 Top 25 babies' names registered in 2016, in order of popularity, with corresponding rank between 2011 and 2016 | ||||||||||||||
Boys' names | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Girls' names | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
James | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Emily | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Jack | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Grace | 4 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |
Daniel | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Ava | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | |
Conor | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | Lucy | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 3 | |
Sean | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Amelia | 32 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | |
Noah | 23 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | Sophie | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
Adam | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | Emma | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
Oisin | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 8 | Mia | 12 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 8 | |
Michael | 9 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 9 | Hannah | 17 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 9 | |
Luke | 12 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 10 | Lily | 5 | 5 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 10 | |
Harry | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 11 | Ella | 11 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 11 | |
Charlie | 20 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 12 | Saoirse | 19 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 12 | |
Cian | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 13 | Olivia | 28 | 30 | 27 | 20 | 14 | 13 | |
Liam | 17 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 20 | 14 | Kate | 15 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 14 | |
Thomas | 18 | 17 | 11 | 17 | 11 | 15 | Aoife | 13 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 15 | |
Darragh | 19 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 16 | Sarah | 6 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | |
Alex | 10 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 17 | Anna | 18 | 22 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 17 | |
Patrick | 21 | 21 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 18 | Chloe | 9 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 17 | |
Ryan | 6 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 18 | 19 | Caoimhe | 14 | 16 | 19 | 25 | 20 | 19 | |
Finn | 36 | 38 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 20 | Ellie | 24 | 28 | 23 | 19 | 24 | 20 | |
Fionn | 30 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 19 | 21 | Katie | 10 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 21 | |
Cillian | 22 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 22 | Sophia | 29 | 21 | 20 | 15 | 21 | 22 | |
Dylan | 10 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 17 | 23 | Holly | 23 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 28 | 23 | |
Aaron | 16 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 24 | Fiadh | 189 | 146 | 82 | 80 | 35 | 24 | |
John | 26 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 28 | 25 | Lauren | 22 | 23 | 21 | 24 | 19 | 25 | |
Source: CSO |
Interactive table: StatBank link
James and Emily were the most popular babies' names in 2016. It is 22 years (1994) since James was the most popular boys name. Emily, on the other hand is the top girls name for the 6th successive year.
The top five boys' names, James, Jack, Daniel, Conor and Sean have been in the top five since 2007 with minor changes to their order.
For boys, the names Muhammad, Louis, Lucas, Josh, Jason and Ollie have had the most growth in popularity. Muhammad jumped 36 places in the rankings since 2015, up from 119 to 83 in 2016 to make it the only new entrant into the top 100 names for boys.
Willow and Matilda, have shown the most growth in popularity in girls’ names between 2015 and 2016 and these together with Harper, Heidi and Zoey, Aria were the only new entrants into the top 100 names for girls in 2016.
Willow was ranked 72nd in 2016 up 49 places from 121 in 2015. Matilda also improved position, up 49 places in the ranking from 146 in 2015 to 97 in 2016.
1.6 Birthdays ranked by popularity | ||||||||||||
1980-2014 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
1 | 361 | 216 | 60 | 306 | 34 | 314 | 65 | 131 | 262 | 1 | 345 | 338 |
2 | 343 | 266 | 221 | 53 | 52 | 340 | 54 | 228 | 252 | 11 | 331 | 288 |
3 | 193 | 249 | 140 | 185 | 168 | 153 | 93 | 221 | 202 | 20 | 336 | 224 |
4 | 175 | 269 | 184 | 259 | 180 | 212 | 28 | 319 | 244 | 42 | 264 | 332 |
5 | 196 | 278 | 61 | 240 | 93 | 308 | 57 | 154 | 249 | 45 | 287 | 315 |
6 | 205 | 298 | 128 | 198 | 120 | 231 | 204 | 175 | 226 | 101 | 238 | 332 |
7 | 201 | 246 | 69 | 220 | 37 | 234 | 122 | 168 | 213 | 23 | 302 | 344 |
8 | 218 | 307 | 104 | 100 | 18 | 89 | 48 | 44 | 207 | 142 | 242 | 271 |
9 | 235 | 320 | 134 | 227 | 48 | 140 | 63 | 77 | 124 | 117 | 313 | 229 |
10 | 297 | 290 | 101 | 214 | 27 | 19 | 186 | 210 | 163 | 130 | 240 | 261 |
11 | 322 | 247 | 111 | 148 | 87 | 39 | 46 | 207 | 126 | 165 | 175 | 274 |
12 | 303 | 252 | 32 | 274 | 112 | 151 | 68 | 109 | 143 | 304 | 230 | 156 |
13 | 352 | 328 | 113 | 268 | 63 | 190 | 108 | 157 | 238 | 310 | 262 | 285 |
14 | 231 | 252 | 70 | 103 | 62 | 186 | 86 | 113 | 117 | 249 | 269 | 148 |
15 | 276 | 191 | 132 | 65 | 168 | 109 | 83 | 56 | 146 | 321 | 324 | 117 |
16 | 256 | 305 | 50 | 162 | 91 | 92 | 67 | 160 | 38 | 311 | 341 | 33 |
17 | 283 | 237 | 362 | 203 | 134 | 85 | 79 | 295 | 13 | 290 | 272 | 31 |
18 | 282 | 186 | 316 | 97 | 134 | 70 | 59 | 286 | 14 | 309 | 247 | 21 |
19 | 296 | 273 | 106 | 144 | 168 | 134 | 95 | 215 | 17 | 289 | 266 | 16 |
20 | 255 | 172 | 81 | 186 | 98 | 30 | 76 | 236 | 9 | 322 | 265 | 25 |
21 | 260 | 194 | 47 | 224 | 26 | 243 | 55 | 182 | 12 | 335 | 329 | 161 |
22 | 278 | 192 | 107 | 29 | 181 | 134 | 75 | 223 | 5 | 167 | 350 | 334 |
23 | 337 | 233 | 155 | 43 | 244 | 121 | 40 | 317 | 2 | 258 | 346 | 360 |
24 | 281 | 159 | 277 | 158 | 178 | 83 | 41 | 325 | 7 | 312 | 318 | 363 |
25 | 301 | 82 | 174 | 127 | 163 | 113 | 98 | 145 | 10 | 349 | 300 | 364 |
26 | 280 | 165 | 77 | 147 | 211 | 133 | 51 | 150 | 6 | 358 | 294 | 365 |
27 | 292 | 124 | 128 | 96 | 80 | 36 | 89 | 134 | 4 | 356 | 348 | 359 |
28 | 293 | 173 | 195 | 35 | 88 | 116 | 74 | 327 | 15 | 347 | 351 | 339 |
29 | 257 | 366 | 196 | 24 | 183 | 58 | 104 | 216 | 3 | 342 | 353 | 206 |
30 | 283 | 199 | 22 | 207 | 122 | 73 | 326 | 8 | 357 | 354 | 70 | |
31 | 299 | 179 | 200 | 152 | 329 | 355 | 218 | |||||
Source:CSO | ||||||||||||
1-51 | 52-79 | 80-108 | 109-236 | 237-366 |
Interactive zone visualisation tool: How popular is your birthday
The number 1 rank is the most popular day of the year to be born and the number 366 rank is the least popular day of the year to be born.
The 1st of October is the most popular birthday, on average there were 191 babies born on that date.
The last 2 weeks in September make up the rest of the Top 10 most popular birthdays.
The least popular birthdate is February 29th, there were on average 45 babies born on that date followed by December 29th, 28th, 27th, March 17th, January 1st and December 23rd.
The data is based on the average number of births over the period 1980-2014.
To see how popular your birthday is click on the interactive visualisation tool.
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