Ireland's birth rate is the highest in Europe (14)

IRELAND HAS the highest birth rate in Europe, according to the latest statistics from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The birth rate of 17 per 1,000 of population, up from 14.4 per 1,000 in 2000, was the highest of any of the 27 countries of the European Union in 2009, according to the Perinatal Statistics Report 2009 published yesterday.

The Irish fertility rate achieves the level required for the population to replace itself in the absence of any net inward migration.

After Ireland, the highest rates were in Britain and France at 12.8 per 1,000 population. Germany had the lowest birth rate, at 8.1 per 1,000.

Some 76,021 births were notified to the National Perinatal Reporting System in 2009, an increase of 434 on the previous year.

The perinatal mortality rate was 6.9 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths.

The average age of women giving birth in 2009 was 31.3 years, up from 30.2 years in 2000. More than 27 per cent of women giving birth were aged 35 or older. Only 3 per cent of births were to mothers who were aged 19 or under.

Of all the women giving birth in 2009, 42 per cent were doing so for the first time, with an average age of 29.1 years for first-time mothers. Of all first deliveries, 31 per cent were to women aged between 30 and 34.

Almost 24 per cent of births in 2009 were to mothers who had been born outside of Ireland.

There has been a 25 per cent increase in deliveries by Caesarean section in the past decade. More than 26 per cent of women had a Caesarean section in 2009, compared with 21 per cent in 2000.

Prof Michael Turner, national director of obstetrics and gynaecology with the Health Service Executive, said: “A continuing increase in the Caesarean section rate, together with an increase in the number of multiple births, is indicative of increasing complexity.

“Serious challenges will therefore arise as we aim to ensure a successful outcome of pregnancy for both the mother and her offspring in the face of the decreasing healthcare budget.”

The twinning rate for 2009 was 15.9 per 1,000 pregnancies, comprising 1,186 sets of twins, 13 sets of triplets and a set of quadruplets.

The average weight of babies born in 2009 was 7lbs 10oz. Low birth weight babies – those weighing less than 5lbs 8oz – accounted for 5 per cent of all births in 2009, which is unchanged since 2000.

Only says born outside Ireland. A lot could still be Irish. They could have been born to Irish parents in the 80's in the UK or any where else in the world.

I think its great we have lots of births. We need a lot more yonger people as we are living longer so we need more births to keep the ratio of old and young at a sustainable level for the state.

Make love people is what I say.

The accession of eastern and central Europe countries to the EU in mid-2004 has been among the biggest drivers of demographic change on this island. As those countries prepared to join the bloc, only Ireland, along with Britain and Sweden, chose to open its labour market and welcome workers from the new members. Ireland’s then-booming economy proved irresistible to many. Poles and their neighbours and Roman Catholic coreligionists in Lithuania found Ireland particularly alluring.

At the time of the 2002 census, about 4,000 people born in those two countries were resident in Ireland. By 2006 that had jumped to 90,000. Despite the recession, yesterday’s 2011 census figures show that last year more than 150,000 Poles and Lithuanians were living here. The big increase in Polish residents is particularly surprising given that their economy has been the best performing in the EU since the 2008 financial crisis, while Ireland’s has been among the worst. Going from a boom to a bust seems hard to fathom.

More widely, and despite the economic crash, the multi-ethnicisation of the Republic continued over census period, with more people of almost every nationality taking up residence. As of last year, more than one in six people resident in Ireland was born elsewhere, up from one in seven in 2006 and about one in 20 in 1991.

By continent, Europeans accounted for the lion’s share of net immigration in the 2006-2011 period, followed by Asians in distant second place. A small increase in people from Africa and the Americas residing in Ireland was also recorded. Curiously, only the Antipodeans have upped sticks in numbers – Australian and Kiwi residents declined by more than one-quarter in the five years to 2011.

By comparative standards, the 17 per cent of residents hailing from countries outside the Republic is well above the EU average of 6.5 per cent. Only Luxembourg and Latvia have bigger foreign-born populations.

Yesterday’s figures also revise earlier estimates of the number of people arriving to live in Ireland over the previous year. In the 12 months to April last, almost 20,000 Irish nationals resettled here (previously statisticians put the number at 17,000), while 34,000 foreigners came to live (up on the 25,000 estimate).

That's fine couples having babies but what I find really sad is 17 18 and 19 yo girls gettin pregnant and not been abil to fulfill the dreams they had set out for themselves like travelling etc

Not surprised - We probably have one of the youngest populations in europe and many of the economic immigrants who came during celtic boom were young and settling down now having children. Don't have any stats to make a call here but I hope the vast majority were planned or the parents old enough to adapt to the new situation in their lifes. I feel sorry for any young girl caught out at an early age, a girl of 17,18 etc has her whole life turned on her head especially if the man does not support her as can often happen at that young age.