CSO figures reveal number of births registered out of wedlock
THE majority of babies born in the first three months of 2018 in Co Waterford were to unmarried couples, figures revealed. Nearly 58% of births in the south-east county were registered to parents outside wedlock or civil partnership. That compares to a nationwide average of 37.8% – and just 23.4% in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.
The Central Statistics Office figures yesterday showed the number of births fell by 828 in the first three months Marriage not a priority for would-be parents of the year while deaths were up by 211 on the same period last year.
The number of births minus the number of deaths resulted in a natural population increase of 6,381.
In that time there were 55 infant deaths registered, giving the country an infant mortality rate of 3.5 per 1,000 live births.
Boys outnumbered girls when it came to new arrivals with 8,006 being born compared to 7,653 females.
The 15,659 births represent an annual birth rate of 13.1 per thousand population, slightly down on the same period last year.
The average age of first-time mothers was 31 while the average age of all mothers at the time of births registered nine months.
Of all the births, 9,740 (62.2%) were to married couples. There were 5,919 births registered as outside marriage or civil partnership accounting for 37.8% of all births in the first quarter of 2018.
The highest number of new babies registered was in Dublin City with 1,805 (11.5% of total live births in the country) followed by Cork with 1,442 (9.2%). Leitrim had the lowest number with 109 babies being born (0.7%). And Louth is the most consistent county with 457 births, the exact same as in the first three months of 2017. was 32 and
fewer babies were born in first three months of 2018 compared to 2017