Vital Statistics 1st Quarter 2004

Births Deaths and Marriages in Quarter 1 2004

Marriages and births increase

There were 2,700 marriages registered in quarter 1 2004. This is a rise of 100 from the quarter 1 2003 figure. This corresponds to a rate of 2.7 per 1,000 population, 0.1 above the annual marriage rate of quarter 1 2003.

There were 15,600 births registered in quarter 1 2004, an increase of 400 on the quarter 1 2003 figure, the highest they have been in the last decade with a birth rate of 15.7 per 1,000 population.

These figures are contained in the Central Statistics Office’s Vital statistics First Quarter 2004 report.

One third of births in quarter 1 2004 (or 5,200) were outside marriage. A total of 750 teenagers had babies in quarter 1 2004; 14 of these were aged under 16. Over 27% of births outside marriage were to women aged 30 years and over. See page 9 of report.

The highest percentage of births outside marriage occurred in Limerick City at 56.3%, while the county with the lowest percentage was Roscommon at 19.8%. See table 6 of report.

The average age at maternity was 30.7 years in quarter 1 2004 while the average age at first birth was 28.3 years. See table 4 of report.

The report also shows that 7,900 deaths were registered in quarter 1 2004, 100 more than quarter 1 2003. This corresponds to a rate of 7.9 persons per 1,000 population. See Table 8, page 14 of report. Breaking down the total deaths reveals that:

• There were 54 suicides or 5 per 100,000 population. This represents a fifth of deaths in the 15-34 age group making it the largest cause of death in this age group. Males represented 74% of suicides, while females represented 26%.
• There were 72 infant deaths and the infant mortality rate of 4.6 per 1,000 live births was 0.2 above that in quarter 1 2003. This is the same as the EU-15 average of 4.6. The neonatal rate was 3.6 per 1,000 live births, 0.2 above quarter 1 2003. 31% of infant deaths occurred on their first day. See Table 10, page 18.
• There were 1,550 deaths from ischaemic heart disease amounting to a fifth of all deaths. Of those, 882 were due to heart attacks.
• Deaths from cancer totalled 2,050, which is a quarter of all deaths. Almost 70% of all cancer deaths occurred in the 65 and over age group.
• Cancer is the largest cause of death in the 45-64 age group, accounting for 46% of deaths in that age group; while diseases of the circulatory system account for 31% of deaths of people aged 45 to 64.
• There were 1,350 deaths (17% of all deaths) due to respiratory diseases. Half of these were due to pneumonia, of which 83% were aged 75 and over.

Vital Statistics First Quarter 2004 is priced at €6.00 and is available on our website www.cso.ie

Hard copies available from the:

Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork,

Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2,

or through any bookseller.

For more information contact Mary Heanue (LoCall 1890 313 414 ext 5423).

29th September 2004

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