Irish people are having children later in life and marriage is on the increase, according to figures released by the Central Statistics office today.
The average age of first-time mothers was 28.5 years, 0.3 years older than in 2003
There were more than twice as many births than deaths in Ireland in 2004, according to the CSO yearly summary released this morning.
A total of 61,684 births were registered last year compared to 28,151 deaths. This is the third year in a row that births have outstripped deaths in the State.
There were 167 more babies born in 2004 than in 2003. However, while birth rates for mothers over the age of 35 increased, birth rates for mothers under 35 decreased. There were 12,544 babies born to mothers aged 35 to 39 in 2004, 566 more than in 2003. Mothers between the age of 20 and 35 accounted for 43,819 births in 2004, a decrease of 355 in that age group on 2003 when the figure was 44,174.
There were 2,560 babies born to teenage mothers last year, 243 less than in 2003.
Almost two in five births (39.8%) were to first time mothers. More than 32 per cent of births last year were outside marriage and of these, nearly a third were to women aged 30 and over.
The average age of first-time mothers was 28.5 years, 0.3 years older than in 2003. The average age of all mothers was 30.8 years, 0.2 years older than in 2003.
The number of deaths registered was 672 less than the 2003 figure. This works out as an annual rate of 7 deaths per 1000 population, 0.2 less than in 2003 and 1.7 less than in 1995.
Almost four in every five deaths were from either diseases of the circulatory system (38%), cancer (27%), or diseases of the respiratory system (14%). The number of deaths due to circulatory diseases - which includes heart disease and stroke - fell by 376 to 10,608. However the number of deaths from cancer rose by 149 to 7,717.
There were 261 deaths from injuries received in car accidents last year and 457 deaths from suicide, an increase of 13 on 2003. 78 per cent of those who died from suicide were male.
Marriage is on the increase with 20,619 registered last year, 317 more than in 2003. The 2004 total is 32 per cent more than in 1995 when 15,604 people tied the knot. The number of divorces granted by the Circuirt Court and the High Court was 3,347.