Average age to marry and have children in Northern Ireland on the rise

The average age at which people in Northern Ireland marry and have children is continuing to rise, according to the latest official statistics.

The figures compiled by Nisra have also revealed that the number of births to teenage mothers has fallen to a record low.

The Registrar General’s 101st Annual Report showed an increase in the overall population, with a 2022 mid-year population estimate of 1.91 million, a 0.3% from 2021.

Some 8,564 marriages were registered in 2022, and 266 same-sex marriages and 28 conversions from civil partnerships to marriage.

The average age for brides and grooms increased to 33.9 and 35.7 years respectively, compared with 27 years for brides and 28.9 years for grooms in 1992.

There were 43 civil partnerships registered in 2022 (up from 37 registered in 2021), nine of which involved male partnerships, four involved female partnerships, but the majority, 30, were opposite-sex partnerships.

Meanwhile there were 2,324 divorces granted in 2022, an increase on the previous year (2,040), but 20.2% lower than the peak number of 2,913 in 2007.

In terms of having children, the report shows that the number of births to teenage mothers fell to a record low at 436 (2.1%) out of the total 20,837 births registered in 2022.

The average age of first-time mothers rose, up from 25.7 years in 1992 to 29.3 years in 2022, while the average age of all mothers similarly rose, from 28 years to 31.4 years over the last three decades.

Of the 20,837 births registered in 2022, 10,642 males and 10,195 females, 47.2% occurred outside of marriage/civil partnership, compared to 22% three decades ago.

2022 saw the stillbirth rate decrease from 4 per 1,000 births in 2021 to 3.4 per 1,000, and a total of 71 stillbirths were registered in Northern Ireland in 2022.

The number of deaths registered in 2022 (17,159) was a 2.3% decrease to the level from 2021 (17,558).

Cancer continued to be the leading cause of death in 2022, accounting for 27% of all deaths and was the most common cause of death for both sexes, with diseases of the circulatory system (such as heart disease and cerebrovascular disease) the second most common cause for both (21.9%).

Final figures show that, with the proportion of Covid-19 deaths falling from 10.5% of all deaths in 2021 to 3.8% in 2022, Alzheimer’s and other dementias became the third most common cause of death (11.8%), followed by respiratory disease which accounted for 11.2% of all deaths registered in 2022.

Some 203 deaths due to people taking their own lives, including deaths from self-inflicted injury and events of undetermined intent) in Northern Ireland in 2022, a decrease from 237 in 2021.

Males accounted for three quarters of all deaths due to self-inflicted injury (76.8%).

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