Statistics show that the decrease in the number of live births goes hand in hand with the increase in the average age of women who have decided to become mothers. The average age of the mother at the total number of births last year was 29.2 years, and 27.5 years at the first births. Five years ago, in 2015, the average age of the mother was 28.7 years, while 27 years is the average for the first births of the mother. In the gender structure, last year males had a larger share of live births, 51.8 percent, or 107.4 per 100 live births.
The lowest number of live births for the period from 1994 to 2019 was born in Macedonia last year, according to data from the State Statistical Office. With 19,845 live births, in 2019 there was a 7% decrease in the number of live births compared to the previous year. Such worrying figures for the birth rate in the country are repeated for the fifth year in a row, with a constant decrease in the number of children born. By comparison, in 2015, 23,075 children were born alive, or 3,230 more than last year.
The decline in birth rates is likely to continue this year, given data for the first quarter of 2020. In January-March 2020, the State Statistical Office registered 4,191 live births, or 8% less compared to the same period in 2019.
In 2019, 16 live births of mothers under the age of 15 were registered. The number of out-of-wedlock live births last year was 2,454 or 13.4 percent of the total number of live births out of wedlock.
