Hungary’s population decline slowed in the first tquarter of the year as the number of births increased by 6.5 percent and the number of deaths decreased by 8.5 percent compared to the same period last year, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported on Tuesday.
Preliminary figures show that there were 22,210 births in January-March, up 1,349 from the same period a year earlier. According to leap day-adjusted data, the number of births for the period was up 5.3 percent compared with 2019.
The number of deaths was 34,565, down 3,230 from last year, KSH said. According to leap day-adjusted data, the number of deaths was down 9.6 percent.
The rise in births and the drop in the death rate means that the rate of natural population decline was down 27 percent compared to the same period last year, or 28 percent, according to leap day-adjusted data.
The number of marriages nearly doubled to 12,271 compared to the same period last year.
Featured photo illustration by György Varga/MTI