Scotland’s ageing population is continuing to grow, while the number of births has fallen, new official figures show.
The number of births registered in the fourth quarter of last year was down by almost 8% against the average, according to National Records of Scotland (NRS).
Our Births, Deaths, Marriages and Vital Events report is out for quarter four of last year.
There were 11,332 births.
That’s 7.8% lower than the recent average for this quarter.
⬇️ Get the data here:https://t.co/HPAx3I4xA4#NRSStats pic.twitter.com/vjEAYyH2eP
— NatRecordsScot (@NatRecordsScot) March 12, 2024
The latest NRS quarterly report on births, deaths, marriages and other “vital events” found 11,332 babies were born between October and December 2023 – some 7.8% lower than the average for the same period in the previous four years.
Comparisons for 2023 have been made against the five years 2017-2019 plus 2021-2022 due to disruption caused by the pandemic, and the figures were described as “provisional”.
The number of marriages has fallen 9% against the recent average to 5,634.
The number of same sex marriages was 232 which is similar to the average for the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/k9aRgotp3V
— NatRecordsScot (@NatRecordsScot) March 12, 2024
Marriages also fell 9% against the recent average to 5,634 between October and December 2023.
The vast majority of civil partnerships were between heterosexual couples.
Of the 183 which took place in Quarter 4, some 146 were between mixed-sex partners, while the number of same-sex marriages was 232, similar to the average for that time period.
There were 15,739 deaths in the final quarter of 2023.
This is 6.9% lower than the expected number of deaths for this quarter. pic.twitter.com/ck1EsTL9Ow
— NatRecordsScot (@NatRecordsScot) March 12, 2024
The report found a total of 15,739 deaths in the final quarter of 2023 – some 6.9% lower than the expected number of deaths for Quarter 4.
However the infant death rate has increased since 2020.
The infant death rate was 3.4 per 1,000 live births – lower than in the first three quarters of 2023.
There has been a generally increasing trend in the infant death rate since 2020, according to NRS statistics.
Complete results for the year will be published in the summer.
NRS statistician Phillipa Haxton said: “In the last quarter of 2023 we saw the continuation of some long-term trends.
“We’re still seeing falling numbers of births and rising numbers of deaths.
“In part this reflects the changing age profile of the population, which is steadily growing older.”