Births drop by over a thousand to fewer than 10,000 in Estonia last year

According to the population department of the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 9,646 births were registered in Estonia's civil registry offices last year, which is 1,075 fewer than the year before.
Last year, 4,744 girls and 4,902 boys were born, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
A total of 142 pairs of twins were registered: 35 pairs of boys, 54 pairs of girls and 53 mixed pairs. One set of triplets was also recorded.
In Tallinn, 3,219 births were registered, followed by Harju County with 1,475, Hiiu County with 61, Ida-Viru County with 624, Jõgeva County with 199, Järva County with 188, Lääne County with 127, Lääne-Viru County with 411, Põlva County with 160, Pärnu County with 618, Rapla County with 242, Saare County with 220, Tartu County with 1,400, Valga County with 157, Viljandi County with 334 and Võru County with 211.
The most popular names for girls last year were Sofia, Mia, Emilia, Olivia, Saara, Emma, Eva, Arabella, Nora and Lenna. For boys, the top names were Mark, Hugo, Oliver, Sebastian, Aron, Robin, Leon, Oskar, David, Markus, Miron and Rasmus.
In 2024, a total of 5,775 marriages were registered, of which 290 were officiated by clergy. There were 2,793 divorces. A total of 2,314 people were granted a new name, including 552 who changed their first name, 1,491 who changed their surname and 271 who changed both their first and last names.
Last year, 15,596 deaths were registered.
In December 2023 alone, 732 births were registered, including 375 boys and 357 girls. Twelve pairs of twins were registered that month: one pair of boys, seven pairs of girls and four mixed pairs. There were 354 marriages, 232 divorces and 1,328 deaths registered in December. Additionally, 189 people were granted a new name.
In 2023, a total of 10,721 births, 5,822 marriages (including 303 officiated by clergy), 2,523 divorces and 15,832 deaths were recorded. A total of 2,219 people were granted new names.
The Ministry of the Interior's population department maintains records of registered vital statistics. Birthrate trends are part of a long-term process that is not influenced by short-term fluctuations. Statistics Estonia is responsible for commenting on and explaining population statistics and changes in the demographic situation.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Marcus Turovski