Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18 per cent in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO).

A total of 65,909 births were registered in 2015, but this fell to 54,125 last year, according to the CSO’s Vital Statistics Yearly Summary for 2025.

However, there was a small increase (63) in the number of births between 2024 and last year.

The figure for last year represented an annual birth rate of 9.9 per 1,000 of population, down from 14.1 per 1,000 of population in 2015.

In the same period, the fertility rate dropped sharply, from 1.9 in 2015 to 1.5 in 2025. A value of 2.1 is usually considered replacement rate, ignoring migration.