IRELAND’S BIRTH RATE decreased in the third quarter of 2012 by 6.4 per cent in comparison to the same time in 2011, according to the CSO.
There were 17,985 births registered, a figure that was 13 per cent higher when compared to the same time in 2003.
The results show there is an annual birth rate of 15.7 per 1,000 of the population, a fall when compared to 16.8 per 1,000 of the population in 2011.
There were no births registered as being within civil partnerships in quarter three of 2012.
Of the 17,985 births, 34 per cent were outside of a marriage or civil partnership. Of these, 20 per cent of births were to unmarried parents with the same address.
The highest percentage of births outside marriage or civil partnership were in Limerick city at 56 per cent, while the lowest percentage occurred in Galway County, at 22 per cent.
The average age of mothers for births registered was 32 years, 0.3 years more than the corresponding figure in quarter 3 2011 and 1.4 years more than in quarter 3 in 2003.
The average age of mothers having their first child in the third quarter of 2012 was 30 years of age.
There were 6,825 deaths registered in the third quarter of 2012, a decrease of 1.2 per cent compared to same time in 2011.
This represents a death rate of 6.0 per 1,000 of the population, the same rate as the corresponding quarter of 2011.
For those aged 65 and over, the annual death rate was 38.3 per 1,000 of the population in comparison to a rate of 39.9 per 1,000 of the population for the corresponding quarter of 2011.
There were 79 infant deaths giving an infant mortality rate of 4.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, an increase compared to 2011, which was 3.4 per 1,000 live births.
Almost one third of all deaths in Q3 were attributed to circulatory disease, while a further 31.1 per cent were attributed to malignant neoplasms, 10.5 per cent to respiratory diseases and 5.9 per cent to external causes.
The natural increase in the population (births minus deaths) for quarter 3 in 2012 was 11,160. This represents a rate of 9.7 per 1,000 of the population, 1.1 per 1,000 of the population lower than quarter 3 of 2011.
There were 7,765 marriages registered in third quarter of 2012, an increase of 227 from the number of marriages registered during the same time in 2011 and a decrease of 231 from the number registered in the corresponding quarter of 2003.
There were 104 civil partnerships registered in quarter 3 2012.
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