There were 53,189 babies born in 2024, this was down 2.5% from 2023. This represented an annual birth rate of 9.9 per 1,000 of population compared to 14.5 per 1,000 of population in 2014. Cork City had the highest birth rate in 2024 at 12.3 per 1,000 of population while both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and Kerry had the joint lowest at 8.0. See PxStat tables VSA38, VSA18 and Table 1.1.
Looking back 30 and 50 years ago, in 1994 and 1974 respectively, the average age was 29.9 years and 28.9 years. In 2024, the average age of mothers giving birth was 33.3 years, which is up compared to 2023 when it was 33.2 years. See Figure 1.1, Map 1.1 and PxStat tables VSA17 and VSA105.
For European comparison on maternal average age see: Eurostat.
There were 613 babies born to teenagers in 2024, while 437 babies were to mothers aged 45 years and over. First-time mothers accounted for 22,443 (42.2%) of all births occurring in 2024. See PxStat tables VSA83, VSA36, Figure 1.2 and Figure 1.3.
For European comparison of maternal age please see: Eurostat.
A total of 22,443 births (42.2%) were to first time mothers in 2024. Second time mothers had 18,133 births (34.1%) and third time mothers had 8,370 births (15.7%). Mothers that already had four or more live-born children accounted for the remaining 8% of births. See Figure 1.4 and PxStat table VSA36.
Nearly six out of every ten births (59.5%) or 31,640 in Ireland in 2024 were born within marriage/civil partnerships, with the remaining 21,549 (40.5%) being born outside marriage/civil partnership. Focusing 30 years previous, in 1994, the share of births within marriage/civil partnership stood at 79.2%, while in 1974 the share of births within marriage/civil partnership stood at 96.6%. See PxStat tables VSA17, VSA91, VSA04, VSA16 and VSA36.
In 2024, babies with a gestational age of 36-39 weeks represented the largest share (61.1%) of births of known gestation. Babies with a gestational age of under 28 weeks represented the smallest percentage of births of known gestation at 0.4%. See PxStat tables VSA83, VSA84 and VSA85.
In 2024, babies with a birthweight of between 3,000-3,499 grams accounted for the largest percentage of births of known birthweight at 34.5%. See PxStat tables VSA84 and VSA85.
There were 287 domiciliary or home births in Ireland in 2024, which accounted for just 0.5% of total births. Regions such as Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (1.3%), Kilkenny (1.2%), and Wicklow, (1.1%) amongst others, recorded shares of domiciliary births which were greater than the national average. See Table 1.2, 1.3 and PxStat tables VSA103 and VSA17.
Births to mothers of Irish nationality accounted for nearly three-quarters (72%) of births in 2024. See Tables 1.4, 1.5 and PxStat tables VSA91 and VSA92.
The number of maternities in 2024 which resulted in live births was 53,189 including 849 twin maternities and 14 triplet maternities. There were no sets of quadruplets. This is equivalent to a “twinning rate” of 16.2 (i.e. the number of sets of live twins per 1,000 maternities which resulted in live births). See Table 1.6 and PxStat table VSA90.
The total period fertility rate (TPFR) is derived from the age specific fertility rates in the current year. It represents the projected number of children a woman would have if she experienced current age specific fertility rates while progressing from age 15-49 years. A value of 2.1 is generally considered to be the level at which the population would replace itself in the long run, ignoring migration.
In 2024 the TPFR for Ireland was 1.5 which is below replacement level. In 2014 the TPFR stood at 1.9, and in 1974 it was 3.6. See Table 1.7, PxStat table VSA104 and Figure 1.5.
For European comparison see: Eurostat.
Homemakers was the most common occupation for mothers who gave birth in 2024, accounting for 16.2% of births. This was followed by health professionals (12.2%) and teaching and education professionals (9.7%). See Figure 1.6 and PxStat table VSB14.
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