Birth rate in Malaga plummets again with 500 fewer births in 2022

Every day last year an average of 32.6 babies were born in hospitals across Malaga province. For the previous year, the figure was slightly over 34. The change might seem minimal, but over the course of 365 days it left its mark until, on 31 December, the comparison between 2021 and 2022 shows a year-on-year drop of 508 births - down 4.1%.

The birth rate in Malaga has reached a new all-time low, with 11,923 births registered last year, according to provisional data published last month by the Institute of Statistics and Cartography of Andalucía (IECA). In fact, it is the first time that in a single year the birth rate has dropped below the level of 12,000 babies. Looking at the whole of Andalucía, 61,806 births were registered in 2022, 3.8% fewer than the previous year.

The death rate also fell in 2022 after the exceptionally higher number of deaths recorded in 2021, attributed to both direct and indirect effects of the pandemic. According to IECA, 13,825 deaths were registered last year in the province of Malaga, compared to 14,538 for the previous year - 714 fewer deaths, a decrease of 4.9%. In Andalucía there was also a fall in the rate, although more moderate, of 1.38% (77,058 deaths registered).

This combination of results for births and deaths has produced negative natural growth for Malaga's population: 1,902 more people died than were born. This difference is less pronounced than it was in 2021 (-2,108), but it is still the second largest figure on record. Malaga has been on the path of negative natural growth since 2020. It is immigration, both domestic (from other provinces) and overseas, that saves it from losing population. In fact, it is one of the provinces that is growing the most demographically due to its ability to attract people (positive net migration).

The first quarter of 2022 saw the most deaths: 3,873. This is usually the case, because in winter there is a higher incidence of infectious and respiratory diseases. In contrast, the third quarter was the one with the lowest mortality (3,226). It was also the busiest for births, totalling 3,127. The quarter with fewest children born was April-June with 2,761.

The number of marriages being celebrated has fully recovered after the collapse caused by the pandemic. In fact, it reached a record number in 2022, with 6,374 weddings held in the province of Malaga. That is 24% up on 2021, 100% better than 2020 and a 24% increase on 2019. It can already be said, therefore, that more people are getting married than pre-Covid levels.

Of those 6,374 marriages registered in the province last year, 253 were same-sex couples, representing 3.9% of all weddings (128 all-male and 136 all-female).

The data released are still provisional and are part of the many statistics gathered to record the natural movement within a population, collated by IECA.