Published on: 28 May 2021

6,966 children born and 14,714 people lose their lives in April

In April 2021, 6,966 children were born and 14,714 people died according to preliminary data. Compared to April 2020, the number of live births decreased by 1.3% and that of deaths rose by 40%. 5,046 couples got married, which was 29% more than in the same period of the previous year. In terms of the trends of vital events in the last twelve months, i.e. between May 2020 and April 2021, the number of births was 1.6% and that of deaths 21% higher and the number of marriages 5.0% lower than one year earlier.

In April 2021:

A total of 6,966 children were born, which was 1.3% less or 94 fewer than in April 2020.

14,714 people lost their lives, which was 40% or 4,214 more than a year earlier1.

The number of deaths significantly rose, while that of births slightly decreased, as a result of which the natural decrease went up by 125% and was 7,748 as opposed to 3,440 in April 2020.

The number of marriages grew; 5,046 couples got married, which was 29% or 1,125 more than in April 2020.

In January–April 2021:

29,273 children were born, which was 0.1% less or 24 fewer than in January–April 2020. Within this, there were 9.3% less live births in January and 1.3% less in April, and 1.4% more in February and 10% more in March compared to the corresponding months of 2020.

The total fertility rate was estimated at 1.52 per female, compared with 1.49 for January–April 2020.

There were 57,618 deaths, 28% or 12,463 more than one year earlier. 17% more people died in January, 6.1% more in February, 47% more in March and 40% more in April.

The number of deaths went up, while that of births slightly decreased, as a result of which the natural decrease was 28,345 as opposed to 15,858 in January–April 2020, which was a rise of 79%.

17,047 couples got married, which was 5.3% or 860 more than a year earlier. 6.9% less marriages were registered in January–February, 5.0% more in March and 29% more in April than in the corresponding months of 2020.

There were 9.2 live births and 18.0 deaths per thousand population. The rate of live births was 0.1 per mille point and that of deaths 4.0 per mille points higher than in January–April 2020, as a result of which the rate of natural decrease was up by 4.0 per mille points to 8.9 per mille. The number of infant deaths was 3.2 per thousand live births in January–April 2021, which was a decline of 0.7 per mille point compared to the same period of the previous year. The marriage rate was 5.3 per mille, which was a 0.3-per-mille-point growth compared to the same period of 2020.

Main data on vital events, January–April 2021

Vital events Number Change compared to same period of previous year, % Per thousand populationa) Change compared to same period of previous year, %
Live births29 273–0.19.20.9
Deaths57 61827.618.028.9
Infant deaths93–19.13.2b)–19.1
Natural increase/decrease–28 34578.7–8.980.6
Marriages17 0475.35.36.4

a) The rates refer to the whole of the year in order to ensure comparability.
b) Per thousand live births.