SCOTLAND tallied up the lowest number of births registered since records began last year – with the pandemic contributing to the highest number of excess deaths since 1940.
New statistics released from the National Records of Scotland has revealed there were 17,284 fewer births than deaths registered in 2020.
The 46,809 births registered in 2020 was the lowest annual total ever recorded since records began in 1855, according to the figures.
READ MORE: Linda Bauld: No lockdown baby boom, as Scots birth rate declines under lockdown
Statistics also show that only 11,509 births were registered in the first quarter of 2021 - 8.5% fewer than the quarter one average for the previous five years.
There were 64,093 deaths registered last year, 10% more than the number in 2019 and 6,333 above the previous five-year average. Analysis shows 2020 recorded the highest level of excess deaths seen since 1940.
READ MORE: Scotland records highest number of peacetime excess deaths since 1891
2020 also saw the lowest infant death rate ever recorded, with 146 infant deaths. There were 198 stillbirths, a slight increase on last year's rate but low in historical terms.
Julie Ramsay, National Records of Scotland’s vital events statistician, said: "With over 64,000 deaths in 2020, which is 10% higher than in 2019, the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Scotland are clear.
“National Records of Scotland statistics also show that there were only 46,809 births across Scotland in 2020, which is the lowest number since records began in 1855.”
There were just 11,831 marriages in 2020 compared to 26,007 in 2019, following restrictions on marriage ceremonies during the pandemic – with many couples being forced to postpone events.
Of the 2020 marriages, 289 were same sex, and there were 72 civil partnerships in 2020, 11 fewer than in the previous year. 33 of these involved male couples and 39 involved female couples.
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