Population surpasses 405,000
Births down by 20 per cent
The population at the end of last year was estimated to be 405,577, of whom just over half were women, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.
Twenty four per cent were aged under 20 and 14 per cent were 65 and over.
Between 1997 and last year, the number of live births went down by 20 per cent. However, they rose by nearly one per cent last year over 2005, the number of male births increasing by three per cent and the female dropping by nearly two.
Last year most mothers were aged between 25 and 29. Six per cent were under 21.
Total registered deaths last year numbered 3,216, a rise of nearly three per cent over 2005 and the highest since 1997.
As in previous years, the majority of deaths were registered in the 75-and-over age group. However, at 61 per cent, the proportion of total deaths last year of the 75+ age group was three percentage points higher than the annual average for the decade 1997-2006.
Last year, the number of registered marriages increased by seven per cent over 2005. Civil marriages last year numbered 859, or 34 per cent of all marriages.
The most common age by those getting married is between 25 and 29, for both men and women. A score of persons aged 65 and over, mostly men, got married last year.