THE NATIONAL BIRTH rate has continued to decline with a with a 5 per cent drop in the number of births in the second quarter following on from a 9 per cent drop at the start of the year.
There were 17,107 new babies registered in the second quarter of 2013 translating into an annual birth rate of 14.9 per 1,000 population, down from the corresponding rate of 15.7 in 2012.
The Fingal area of Dublin recorded the highest birth rate in the country at 19.0 per 1,000 population with the lowest rate recorded in Mayo at 12.1.
The research from the Central Statistics Office shows that 34 per cent of births in the state were to unmarried parents. The highest percentage of births outside marriage occurred in Limerick City while the lowest percentage occurred in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown at 22.9 per cent.
Births to unmarried parents with the same address accounted for 19.4 per cent of the total number. There were two births registered to parents within a civil partnership.
There were five births to mothers aged under 15 years of age in the three month period and 59 births registered to women over 45 years of age
Marriages and deaths
The number of marriages was almost the same as this time last year with 5,444 taking place. There were 72 civil partnerships in the second quarter, 20 more than at the start of the year but less than the 120 at this point last year.
There was an 8 per cent increase in deaths during the second quarter with 7,644 deaths registered. Details on the causes of death are not yet available but the figures pointed to an increase in the infant mortality rate.
There were 58 infant deaths registered in quarter 2 2013 giving an infant mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, higher than the corresponding rate of 2.6 last year.
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