Important Notice: Due to the HSE cyber-attack in May 2021, General Register Offices (GRO) were closed. This meant that the registration of Births/Deaths/Marriages were not possible at that time. As a result, the total Births/Deaths/Marriages registered in Q2, Q3 and Q4 2021 is not comparable with previous and/or subsequent quarters, and therefore, care should be taken when comparing 2022 figures with 2021. See Statistician's Comment below for more.
The number of births registered continues to fall, down over a fifth in the ten years since 2012.
There were 19 babies born to girls aged under 16 in 2022 while 384 women aged 45 and over gave birth.
More than four-fifths (83%) of the deaths registered in 2022 were persons aged 65 years or over.
Cancers (malignant neoplasms), diseases of the circulatory system or diseases of the respiratory system, accounted for two in three (67%) deaths in 2022.
COVID-19 accounted for 1,848 deaths or 5.2% registered deaths in 2022.
Of the 23,173 marriages registered last year, 618 were same-sex marriages.
The average age of first-time mothers is down 0.1 years to 31.5 years from 2021.
The highest number of births registered was in Dublin City with 6,967 (12% of total live births in the country) followed by Cork County with 4,906 (8.5%). Leitrim had the lowest number with 391 (0.7%) registered births in 2022.
| Vital Statistics | 2022 | 2021 |
| Births | 57,540 | 58,443 |
| Deaths | 35,477 | 33,055 |
| Marriages | 23,173 | 17,217 |
| Natural increase | 22,063 | 25,388 |
| Births | Deaths | Natural Increase | |
| 2012 | 15.7 | 6.3 | 9.4 |
| 2013 | 14.9 | 6.5 | 8.4 |
| 2014 | 14.5 | 6.3 | 8.3 |
| 2015 | 14.1 | 6.4 | 7.7 |
| 2016 | 13.5 | 6.4 | 7.1 |
| 2017 | 12.9 | 6.4 | 6.6 |
| 2018 | 12.6 | 6.4 | 6.2 |
| 2019 | 12.1 | 6.3 | 5.8 |
| 2020 | 11.2 | 6.4 | 4.9 |
| 2021 | 11.7 | 6.6 | 5.1 |
| 2022 | 11.3 | 7 | 4.3 |
There were 57,540 births registered in 2022, 29,400 male births and 28,140 female births, a decrease of 903 on 2021. The 2022 total is 20% lower than in 2012 when 72,225 births were registered. The 57,540 births represent an annual birth rate of 11.3 per thousand population. This rate is 0.4 per thousand population lower than in 2021. See tables 3, 4 and 5.
The total period fertility rate, TPFR, is derived from the age specific fertility rates in the current year. It represents the projected number of children a woman would have if she experienced current age specific fertility rates while progressing from age 15-49 years. 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.
In 2022 the TPFR for Ireland was 1.7 which is below replacement level. See table 3.
The average age of first time mothers in 2022 was 31.5 years, down 0.1 years from 2021. The average age of mothers at maternity for all births registered in 2022 was 33.2 years, down 0.1 from 2021. The average age of first time mothers outside marriage/civil partnership was 29.8 in 2022 while the average age of all mothers outside marriage/civil partnership was 31.1 years. The previous year the average age of mothers having their first baby outside marriage/civil partnership was 30.0 years while it was 31.1 years for all mothers for births registered outside of marriage/civil partnership. See tables 6, 7, 8, 9 and Map 1.
The highest number of births registered was in Dublin City with 6,967 (12% of total live births in the country) followed by Cork County with 4,906 (8.5%) registered births. Leitrim had the lowest number with 391 (0.7%) registered births in 2022. The same pattern was reflected in 2021 when Dublin City accounted for 6,463 or 11% of births followed by Cork County with 5,418 (9.3%). Leitrim also had the lowest number, 405 births (or 0.7%), registered in 2021. See tables 10, 11 and Map 2.
In 2022, there were 32,786 (57%) births registered as within marriage and civil partnerships.
There were 24,754 births registered as outside marriage/civil partnership accounting for 43% of all births, an increase of 2.3% from 2021. The highest percentage of births outside marriage/civil partnership was in Wexford at 53% and the lowest was in Dun Laoghaire with 28%. See table 6.
A total of 798 teenagers had babies in 2022, of these 19 were aged under 16. 42% of births outside marriage/civil partnership were to mothers under 30. See tables 12, 13 and Map 3.
A total of 22,964 births (40%) were to first time mothers in 2022. Second time mothers had 19,781 births (34%). This accounted for a total of 74% of births of stated parity. See table 14 and figure 2.
Of the 57,540 births in 2022, there were 43,651 babies (76%) born to mothers of Irish nationality compared to 45,381 (78%) in 2021. There were 8.3% of births to mothers of EU15 to EU27 nationality, 1.9% of mothers were of UK nationality, and 2.3% were of EU14 nationality (excluding Ireland). Mothers of nationalities other than Ireland, UK and the EU accounted for 12% of total births registered. There were 0.01% of mothers where the nationality was not stated. See tables 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
There were 35,477 deaths registered in 2022, of these 18,346 were male while 17,131 were female. The 2022 total is 7.3% higher than in 2021 when 33,055 deaths were registered. See table 16.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Principal causes of death 2022 |
|---|---|
| circulatory diseases | 27.206359049525 |
| external causes | 4.2280914395242 |
| COVID-19 | 5.21182738112016 |
| respiratory diseases | 10.477210587141 |
| malignant neoplasms | 28.9765199988725 |
| Remainder | 23.8999915438171 |
Diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 9,652 deaths or an annual rate of 1.9 per 1,000 population. Of these, 4,239 were due to ischaemic heart disease and 1,654 to cerebrovascular disease. See tables 18 and 21, and figure 3.
There were 10,280 deaths from malignant neoplasms. This is equivalent to an annual rate of 2.0 per 1,000 population. See tables 18 and 21, and figure 3.
Deaths from chronic lower respiratory disease numbered 1,731, pneumonia accounted for 820 deaths and 1,166 deaths resulted from all other respiratory diseases. See tables 18 and 21.
There were 1,848 registered deaths where COVID-19 was assigned as the underlying cause of death in 2022. There were a further 697 mortality records where there was a mention of COVID-19 in the narrative of the death certificate and where the underlying cause of death was not COVID-19. Of these 697, deaths from neoplasms numbered 176 (25%) while diseases of the circulatory system accounted for a further 230 (33%) of these deaths. See tables 18, 19, 20 and 23. An information note is available outlining how the CSO assigns COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death.
In 2022, a death due to Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 was recorded for the first time. This death occurred in the 65-74 age group: See tables 18, 19 and 20.
There were 1,500 deaths due to accidents, suicides and other external causes. Accidents accounted for 70% (1,053) of these deaths, while suicides accounted for 27% (412). Of these 1,500 deaths, 977 (65%) were male. See tables 18, 19 and 20.
Death due to intentional self-harm is classified as an unnatural death and therefore, must be referred to the Coroner for investigation. This investigation can take a protracted length of time to complete for various reasons (such as getting medical reports, health and safety reports, engineer’s report, the involvement of the Director of Public Prosecutions etc.) and this delays the registration of such deaths. There were 911 deaths registered late in 2022, of which 528 were male and 383 were female. There were 455 of these late registered deaths that occurred in 2020 and 456 that occurred in various years prior to 2020. See table B.
To address this problem the CSO publishes tables by cause of death, sex and specific age-groups in the relevant Vital Statistics Annual Report. Numbers of deaths registered late due to intentional self-harm in 2022 will be included in the Appendix 2022 of the Annual Report 2022 and will be referred to the year that the death occurred i.e. 2020 and prior. These will be published in table 3.C and 3.D of that report which is scheduled for dissemination in October 2024. Therefore, any additional deaths due to intentional self-harm will be added to the deaths that were registered in time to be included in the relevant Annual Report.
For example: There were 465 deaths due to intentional self-harm in 2020, 338 (or 73%) males and 127 (or 27%) females and were reported in table 2.10 of the Vital Statistics Annual Report 2020. Any death assigned an underlying cause of death that is included in the 911 late registered deaths in 2022, and where death occurred in 2020, will be added to the 465 figure of deaths due to intentional self-harm when the Vital Statistics Annual Report 2022 is published. Please refer to the CSO open data portal (tables VSD33 and VSD34) for the most up to date figures on deaths from intentional self-harm.
There were 191 Infant deaths registered in 2022 giving an infant mortality rate of 3.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, an increase of 0.2 from 2021. Neonatal deaths are deaths of infants at ages under 4 weeks. There were 140 neonatal deaths registered in 2022, a neonatal mortality rate of 2.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, unchanged from 2021. See tables 1,2, and 17, and figure 4.
| Under 1 year rates | infant | neonatal |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| 2017 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
| 2018 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
| 2019 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| 2020 | 2.7 | 2 |
| 2021 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
The leading single cause of death in 2022 varied widely by age group. Among those aged from 15 to 34 years, external causes of death including accidents, suicide and other ranked first (276 deaths). Among individuals aged 35-74, cancers were the leading single cause group while for those aged 75 and older, it was diseases of the circulatory system. See table 18 and figure 5.
There were 29,439 deaths of persons aged 65 and over registered in 2022. This represents an annual death rate of 38.3 per 1,000 population aged 65 and over and represents a rate increase of 1.5 when compared with 2021. See tables 1, 2 and figure 5.
| Code Generator for HighCharts V1.1 | Cancer | Disease of the circulatory system | Disease of the respiratory system | COVID-19 | Accident, suicide, homicide and undetermined | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 7.93650793650794 | 2.38095238095238 | 1.98412698412698 | 0.396825396825397 | 0.396825396825397 | 86.9047619047619 |
| 15-34 | 15.7281553398058 | 7.18446601941748 | 2.71844660194175 | 2.52427184466019 | 2.52427184466019 | 69.3203883495146 |
| 35-74 | 42.9311556023885 | 21.5314365999298 | 6.95468914646997 | 4.04812082894275 | 4.04812082894275 | 20.4864769933263 |
| 75 and over | 22.6824457593688 | 30.687762627562 | 12.4603378783981 | 5.89143298173398 | 5.89143298173398 | 22.3865877712032 |
Table B has been updated on 05/11/2024 due to the omission of late registered deaths for the period Q1 2022. This issue only impacts this table based on registration data and has no impact on any other tables, including those based on occurrence data (year, month, etc. of death).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (26 May 2023) released the Vital Statistics Fourth Quarter and Yearly Summary 2022 reports.
Commenting on the Yearly Summary report, Seán O’Connor, Statistician in the Vital Statistics Division, said: “There were 57,540 births registered in 2022, some 903 (or 1.5%) less than 2021 and a fall of 20% since 2012. This represented an annual birth rate of 11.3 per 1,000 of population compared to 15.7 per 1,000 population in 2012.
The average age of first-time mothers in 2022 was 31.5 years, down 0.1 years from 2021. The average age of mothers for all births registered in 2022 was 33.2 years, compared to 33.3 in 2021 and 31.9 years, a decade earlier, in 2012.
A total of 798 teenagers had babies in 2022 (699 in 2021), and of these, 19 were aged under 16 years. There were 5,137 births to mothers aged 40 and over in 2022 (4,817 in 2021), and of these, 384 were aged 45 and over.
More than two-fifths of babies (43%) or 24,754, were born outside of marriage/civil partnerships, and of these, 26% were to co-habiting parents.
Births to mothers of Irish nationality accounted for more than three-quarters (76%) of births in 2022. A further 1.9% of births were to mothers of UK nationality, with 2.3% born to mothers from EU14 countries (excluding Ireland).
Deaths
There were 35,477 deaths registered in 2022, of which 18,346 were male and 17,131 were female. This equates to a death rate of 7.0 deaths per 1,000 population. The 2022 figure is 19% higher than in 2012 when 28,848 deaths were registered.
There were 29,439 deaths of persons aged 65 and over registered in 2022 and this accounts for more than four-fifths (83%) of all deaths registered in 2022.
The death of a live-born infant under the age of one is categorised as an infant death. There were 191 infant deaths registered in 2022 giving an infant mortality rate of 3.3 deaths per 1,000 live births. Ten years earlier in 2012, there were 250 infant deaths registered which equated to an infant mortality rate of 3.5 per 1,000 live births. Neonatal deaths are deaths of infants at ages under four weeks. There were 140 neonatal deaths registered in 2022, a neonatal mortality rate of 2.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Two in three deaths were from neoplasms* (10,541 or 30%), diseases of the circulatory system (9,652 or 27%) or diseases of the respiratory system (3,717 or 10%). Deaths due to accidents, suicide and other external causes accounted for a further 1,500 or 4.2% of all deaths in 2022.
COVID-19 was responsible for 1,848 deaths registered and of these 1,374 were aged 75 years and older.
The natural increase (births minus deaths) in 2022 was 22,063, which was 13% lower than the natural increase of 25,388 in 2021.
Marriages
There were 23,173 marriages registered in 2022 (up from 17,217 in 2021), of which 618 were same-sex marriages. The marriage rate in 2022 was 4.5 marriages per 1,000 of population, 1.1 more than the rate in 2021.”
*This text has been updated on 30th May 2023 to reflect a revision from malignant neoplasms to total deaths from neoplasms of 10,541.