A total of 57,023 Croatians died in 2020, which is 10.1% more than in 2019, while the death rate was 14.1 and the birth rate 8.9, according to data released by the state statistics bureau on Friday.

The total fertility rate was 1.48, well below the simple reproduction rate of 2.1, the report said.

Last year, 35,987 children were born, including 35,845 live births and 142 stillbirths. The number of live births fell by 0.8% compared with 2019 as 290 fewer children were born than in the previous year. Of the total number of liveborn children, 51.3% were boys and 48.7% girls.

As in the previous year, the majority of children born in 2020 were first-borns (44.2%), second-borns accounted for 33.9%, third-borns for 13.7%, and fourth-borns and later-borns for 7.1%. A total of 8,176 liveborn children were born out of wedlock, or 22.8% of all liveborn children.

The mother’s average age at first birth has been increasing for years, from 22.8 years in 1968 to 29.4 years in 2020.

Men died at 73.8 years on average and women at 80.7 years.

In 2020, as in the previous years, people mostly died from diseases of the circulatory system (34.6% of men and 45.3% of women) and neoplasms (27.6% of men and 19.9% of women).

The number of infant deaths last year was 142, of which 32.4% occurred in the first day of life. There has been a considerable decline in infant deaths over the years. The infant death rate (the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births) was 41.1 in 1968, 13.1 in 1988 and 4.0 in 2020,

The natural increase rate was negative, at -5.2, and the vital index (live births per 100 deaths) was 62.9.

In 2020, there were 15,196 marriages, which was 23.1% fewer than in 2019, and the marriage rate (marriages per 1,000 inhabitants) was 3.8. Of the total number of marriages, 87.8% of brides and 87.8% of grooms were married for the first time.

The average age at first marriage increased for both grooms and brides. In 1989, the average age of a bride at first marriage was 23.1 years and of a groom 26.7 years, while in 2020, the average age of a bride was 29.1 years and of a groom 31.6 years. Of the total number of marriages in 2020, 57.7% were civil marriages and 42.3% religious marriages.

In 2020, there were 5,153 divorces. The number of divorces per 1,000 marriages was 339.1, while the number of divorces per 1,000 inhabitants was 1.3. The average duration of marriages that ended in a divorce was 15.0 years.