THE NUMBER OF babies born in 2022 fell by 10.1% compared to the previous year.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), there were 54,483 babies born in 2022, down from 60,575 babies born in 2021. 

This represented an annual birth rate of 10.5 per 1,000 of population, compared with 15.6 per 1,000 population in 2012. 

In terms of location, Waterford City had the highest birth rate in 2022 of 12.4 per 1,000 population while Galway City had the lowest at 8.4.

The fertility rate – which is the total number of children a woman would have if she experienced current age specific fertility rates in her life – was at 1.5 in 2022.

This is compared to 2.0 in 2012 and 3.9 in 1972. 

According to the CSO, 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.

The data also shows that women are having children older. 

Number of births in Ireland fell by 10.1% to 54,483, while deaths rose by 2.8% to 35,804 when compared with 2021https://t.co/BCnCPT7fnO#CSOIreland #Ireland #VitalStatistics #VitalStats #Births #Deaths #Marriages #IrishBabiesNames #BoysNames #GirlsNames #BabyNames pic.twitter.com/WnRTnQFeXU

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) October 31, 2024

In 2022, the average age of mothers giving birth was 33.2 years, compared to 29.7 years in 1992 and 29.1 years in 1972.

First-time mothers accounted for 21,943 or 40.3% of all births in 2022.

Within the state, Roscommon recorded the region with the highest proportion of first-time mothers. Of the 688 births which occurred in 2022, 383 of these or 55.7% were first-time mothers.

This share was lowest in Monaghan, where 31.5% of the 696 births were to first-time mothers.

Deaths

There were 35,804 deaths registered in 2022, which was 960 more than the 34,844 figure the previous year.

Of those who died, 18,553 were males and 17,251 were females. The annual death rate was 6.9 per 1,000 of population, compared with 6.4 per 1,000 of population in 2012.

The most frequent age at death for males was 84 years, while for females it was 88 years. The most common age at death 10 years ago in 2012 was 82 years for males and 87 years for females.

Just over two-thirds of all deaths registered last year were due to Neoplasms, circulatory deaths or respiratory deaths.

Neoplasms accounted for the largest number of deaths in 2022 at 10,361, followed by deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system at 9,930 and 3,874 deaths from diseases of the respiratory system.

There was a 4.8% increase in deaths from either malignant neoplasms (meaning a cancerous tumour) in 2022 compared to the previous year. 

Cancers of the bronchus and lungs were the most common causes of death, accounting for 1,963 of the 10,100 cancer deaths in 2022. These were followed by cancers of the breast, cancers of the pancreas and cancers of the prostate.

The data shows that 51.1% of cancer deaths occurred in those aged 75 years and over, while only 1% occurred in those under 35 years.

Between 2012 and 2022, there has been a 109% increase in the number of dementia-related deaths. In 2022, dementia collectively accounted for 5.5% of all deaths.

A total of 1,632 deaths occurred due to Covid-19 in 2022, down 48.7% from 2021, when the number of deaths stood at 3,178.

Deaths due to accidents, suicide and other external causes accounted for a further 1,670 of all deaths in 2022.