Number of births to teenage mothers in Ireland has fallen by over 60% in ten years

The number of births to teenage mothers in Ireland has fallen by over 60% in a decade. 

According to the Vital Statistics Annual Report released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the birth number for teenagers has decreased by 61.8%. 

The most recent figures show 858 babies were born to teenage mothers in 2019 compared to 2,249 in 2009. 

The report also found that the average age of mothers who gave birth in 2019 was 33.1 years. 

Of note, the twinning rate has "increased significantly" over the past twenty years, from 13.7 per 1,000 maternities in 1999 compared to 18.2 per 1,000 maternities in 2019. 

According to the report, almost two fifths of births - or 38.2% - were outside marriage or civil partnerships in 2019. 

That figure was 12.8% thirty years prior in 1989.