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Key Findings

Number of births in Ireland down 4.2% to 56,812, while deaths occurring increased by 5.4% to 32,856 when compared to 2019.

Online ISSN: 2009-5538
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Key Findings

  • There were 56,812 babies born in Ireland during 2020, down 2,482 babies or 4.2% from 2019.

  • The average age of mothers giving birth in Ireland in 2020 was 33.1 years, the highest average age since the age of mothers was first recorded in 1955.

  • In 2020, 1.5% (857) of all births were to teenage mothers, similar to 2019, while 8.3% (or 4,700) of all births were to mothers aged 40 and over, an increase of 0.4% on 2019.

  • In 2020, there were 1,013 sets of twins born in Ireland, 11 sets of triplets, and one set of quadruplets.

  • There were 32,856 deaths in Ireland in 2020, of which 17,051 were males and 15,805 were females.

  • Neoplasms accounted for the largest number of deaths in 2020 at 9,892, followed by deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system at 8,835 and 3,271 deaths from diseases of the respiratory system.

  • The number of deaths where COVID-19 was the Underlying Cause of Death in 2020 was 1,928, of which 994 were males and 934 were females.

  • There were 120 stillbirths registered in 2020 and 178 deaths of infants under one year of age.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 October 2022) released the Vital Statistics Annual Report for 2020.

Commenting on the Annual Report, Gerard Doolan, Statistician in the Vital Statistics Division, said: “There were 56,812 babies born in 2020, down 2,482 babies (or 4.2%) from 2019. This represented an annual birth rate of 11.4 per 1,000 of population compared to 16.5 per 1,000 population in 2010. In 2020, there were 1,013 sets of twins born in Ireland, 11 sets of triplets, and one set of quadruplets.

Age of Mothers

Looking back 30 and 50 years ago, in 1990 and 1970 respectively, the average age was 29.6 years. In 2020, the average age of mothers giving birth was 33.1 years, which is the highest average age of mothers at maternity, since this information was first recorded in 1955.

A total of 857 teenagers had babies in 2020, virtually unchanged from 2019 when there were 858 such births. In 2020, there were 8.3% or 4,700 births to mothers aged 40 and over. This was the highest percentage of births recorded to this age group since 1969 when it was 6.6% of all births.

Births within Marriage/Civil Partnership

More than three-fifths of babies (61%) or 34,850, were born within marriage/civil partnerships, compared with 21,962 (or 39%) born outside marriage/civil partnership.

Births to First-Time Mothers

First time mothers accounted for 22,291 or 39% of all births occurring in 2020 while mothers that already had three or more live-born children made up 8.8% of all births.

Births by Region and Nationality

The highest number of births in 2020, took place in the Dublin regional authority area at 16,623 (29% of all births), while the Midland region had the smallest number of births at 3,552 (6.3% of all births).

Births to mothers of Irish nationality accounted for more than three-quarters (77%) of births in 2020.

Births by Location

While there were 314 domiciliary or home births in Ireland in 2020, which accounted for just 0.6% of total births, 56,498 births (or 99%) occurred in a hospital setting. In terms of stated occupation, just under one in five mothers (18%) stated they were a homemaker.

Deaths

There were 32,856 deaths in Ireland in 2020, of which 17,051 were males and 15,805 were females. This equates to a death rate of 6.6 deaths per 1,000 population, an increase of 0.3 from 2019. The 2020 figure is 5.4% higher than in 2019 when 31,184 deaths occurred and 17.5% higher when compared with 2010 when there were 27,961 deaths in Ireland.

There were 26,979 deaths of persons aged 65 and over in 2020 and this accounts for more than four-fifths (82%) of all deaths in Ireland in 2020.

Infant Deaths

The death of a live-born infant under the age of one is categorised as an infant death. There were 178 infant deaths in 2020 giving an infant mortality rate of 3.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, up 0.3 from 2019 when there were 167 infant deaths. Neonatal deaths are deaths of infants at ages under four weeks. There were 134 neonatal deaths in 2020, an increase of 6 on the 2019 figure. The neonatal mortality rate per 1,000 live births was 2.4 in 2020, an increase of 0.2 from 2019.

Most Common Causes of Death

Two in three deaths were from malignant neoplasms (9,648 or 29%), diseases of the circulatory system (8,835 or 27%) or diseases of the respiratory system (3,271 or 10%). The number of deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the Underlying Cause of Death (UCOD) in 2020 was 1,928 (or 5.9% of total deaths). Deaths due to accidents, suicide and other external causes accounted for a further 1,692 or 5.1% of all deaths in 2020.

There were 1,724 deaths due to dementia, of which, 1,051 (61%) were female and 527 deaths were due to Alzheimer's, of which, 355 (67%) were female.

Deaths by Location

In terms of where people died in 2020, there were 11,847 deaths (36%) that occurred in general and orthopaedic hospitals, 9,209 (or 28%) were domiciliary deaths, and 6,434 (20%) deaths occurred in nursing homes.”