More deaths than births in Glasgow in 2021, figures show

The National Records of Scotland has published its annual Vital Events data for 2021, looking at the number of big life events like births, deaths, marriages and more.

The data for Glasgow City shows that there were 5929 live births in the area in 2021 - 3067 males and 2862 females.

However, that was almost 1000 fewer than the number of deaths. Glasgow City recorded 6906 deaths over the course of the year, with more females dying than males (3470 compared to 3436).

On a happier note, there were 1918 marriages and a further 42 civil partnerships. In total, 99 of the marriages and 12 of the civil partnerships involved same sex couples.

The data for births also shows that 2686 of the babies were born to married parents, while 3243 were born to unmarried parents.

It also examines the birth nations of the mothers. Almost seven per cent of the new mothers (410) were born in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan - the highest percentage outside of those born outside of the UK or EU.

In total, 422 parents were born in EU countries, not including the Irish Republic. 4065 of the babies were born to mums born inside the UK.

The trend of there being more deaths than births is not just one affecting Glasgow.

47,786 live births were registered in 2021 in Scotland. This was two per cent higher than the previous year, but still the second lowest annual total since records began in 1855.

63,587 deaths were registered last year, one per cent fewer than in 2020. There were 10 per cent, or 5,827, excess deaths compared to the pre-pandemic five year average.

Julie Ramsay, Vital Events statistician, said: “15,801 fewer births than deaths were registered in 2021. The difference between births and deaths is described as natural change and Scotland has been in a period of negative natural change (more deaths than births) since 2015.

“Whilst the 2021 death figures show a slight reduction on the year before, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still evident.

“Births increased slightly but are still low in historical terms. The fertility rate increased slightly to 1.31 after falling to 1.29 last year, its lowest ever level. For a population to replace itself this figure needs to be around 2.1.”