The birth rate in Ireland has fallen significantly over the last ten years, with a decline of 20%. According to the Central Statistics Office, 57,540 babies were born in 2022, a decrease of 1.5% from the previous year. The fall is significant when compared with the figures from ten years ago, when 71,674 children were born in 2012, although the population was smaller then, as reported by the Irish Times.
The annual birth rate has declined from 15.7 births per 1,000 people in 2012 to 11.3 births per 1,000 people in 2022. The fertility rate, which measures the average number of children per woman, has also fallen to 1.7 in 2022, well below the replacement level of 2.1. The replacement level represents the rate at which the population naturally replaces itself without any influence from migration.
The decline in birth rates may impact future enrollment and the tax base needed to support an aging population. In addition, the average age of first-time mothers decreased slightly to 31.5 years, while the average age of all mothers was 33.2 years in 2022.
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