Population and vital events

It is particularly important to present, in addition to our regular and detailed publications, the current situation of the areas most affected by the pandemic with flash estimates using a limited information base. Our WEEKLY MONITOR presents the economic and social impacts of the pandemic through daily, weekly and monthly updated preliminary data as a collection of interactive diagrams.

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.

Somewhat fewer children were born in Hungary in 2019 than a year earlier, but the total fertility rate increased. The number of deaths decreased, so the rate of population decrease slowed down. The number of marriages was the highest in 29 years, the balance of marriages became positive again. The annually published demographic yearbook includes detailed data on the composition of the population, on births, marriages, divorces, deaths, and the characteristics of migration.

Data related on settlements and districts of Budapest in the Dissemination database are updated twice this year, as such part of the 2019 serial settlement and district data, among others about settlement size, permanent, respectively resident population by sex and age groups, as well as live births, deaths, marriages, internal migration are available from 31 July, four months earlier than it was customary before.

The population of Hungary was 9,769 thousand on 1 January 2020, 3.3 thousand fewer than a year earlier. The number of deaths decreased at a higher pace than that of births, so the rate of natural decrease of the population decelerated in 2019. The positive balance of 37.1 thousand of international migration reduced significantly the natural decrease of the population. 21.9 thousand Hungarians moved abroad, while 23.2 thousand returned home. Substantially, 28% more couples entered into marriage, their number was the highest in the past 30 years.

7.5% less people died in the first 16 weeks of 2020 as a whole than in the same period last year. The number of deceased people was permanently lower in the first 11 weeks, but there was a slight surplus of deaths from the middle of March.
This weekly updated summary table of vital events includes data broken down by sex and age as well.

The coronavirus epidemic is particularly dangerous for the elderly, so we need to take better care of them during these weeks. More and more people are among the elderly: on 1 January 2019, nearly 1.9 million people aged 65 and over lived in Hungary, nearly one fifth of the population.