Most of the babies born in Malta in 2015 were delivered in December when 401 births were registered.

Figures issued this week by the Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, show that, in the year under review, February was the least popular month with 311 births being registered.

A total of 4,325 babies were born in 2015, up 134 when compared to the previous year. In both years, more babies were born during the colder months than in the summer.

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The number of births has been on the rise for some years now. In fact, Eurostat data shows that 3,858 babies were born in 2005. The statistics office also noted that the fertility rate of women in Malta had also increased slightly, despite still being slightly below the European Union average. In 2015, it stood at 1.45, as compared to 1.42 in the previous year.

At EU level, the rate was 1.58 in both years.

Eurostat indicates that the fertility rate in Malta continues to decline. In 2014 it stood at 1.42, below the 2001’s 1.48. The EU average in 2014 was 1.58.

The increase in the number of births was also reflected in a slight rise in the infant mortality rate. In the year under review, there were 5.8 deaths per 1,000 births, up from 5.4 deaths a decade earlier.

At European Union level, in the period between 2005 and 2015, infant mortality rates fell by more than a quarter, from an average of 5.1 deaths per 1,000 births to 3.7 deaths per 1,000.