Covid-19 was one of the lowest causes of deaths in the third quarter of 2020, according to Central Statistics Office figures.

There were 191 coronavirus deaths in Ireland between June and September last year out of a total of 7,111 deaths over those three months.

Greater causes of death between June and September of last year were cancer (2,356), followed by diseases of the circulatory system (1,964), dementia (348) and respiratory illness (333). Accidents accounted for 217 deaths, Alzheimer’s for 125, with 94 people taking their own lives.

Hospital Report

The average age for death by Covid-19 between between June and September last year was 84, with the average age of all deaths in the period at 81.

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In general, death rates between June and September 2020 in Ireland were lower than for the equivalent period in 2019 despite the pandemic, latest figures from the CSO show.

So too were marriage rates, which numbered 3,080 (including 102 same-sex marriages) over the period. It equalled an annual marriage rate of 2.5 per 1,000 population, a drop of 3.5 from the same quarter in 2019.

There were 7,111 deaths in that third quarter of 2020, a drop of 3.4 per cent (or 247 ) from the same three months period in 2019. It equates to a death rate of 5.7 per 1,000 population, a decrease of 0.3 points from the same third quarter in 2019.

Birth rates too between June and September last year were lower that for the equivalent period in 2019. There were 14,477 births in the quarter, 902 births or 5.9 per cent less than the same period in 2019. It corresponds to a birth rate of 11.6 per 1,000 population, a drop of 0.9 per thousand population from the third quarter of 2019.

Of those births between June and September last year, 5,689 , or 39.3 per cent, were outside a marriage/civil partnership context with the highest percentage of such births in Limerick City at 56.5 per cent. The lowest was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown with 25.1 per cent.

This represents a slight increase in the same category over the third quarter of 2019 where, of the 6,017 births registered then, 39.1 per cent were outside a marriage/civil partnership context.

Overall, and unsurprisingly, the highest number of births in the third quarter of 2020 was in Dublin city where 1,631 (11.3 per cent) of all live births in the country took place, followed by Cork county with 1,375 (9.5 per cent).

The lowest number of births over the period was in Leitrim with 91 (0.6 per cent. It was similar in the third quarter of 2019 when Dublin city accounted for 1,776 or 11.5 per cent of births then followed by Cork county with 1,367 (8.9 per cent). Leitrim also had the lowest number of births (102, or 0.7 per cent) then too.

In terms of the nationality of mothers who gave birth in Ireland between June and September last year, 11,135 of the babies (76.9 per cent) were born to mothers of Irish nationality compared to 11,767 (76.5 per cent) in the third quarter of 2019.

The estimated population of Ireland in April 2020 was 4,977,443.

Following a Government decision last September the nationwide census planned to take place on Sunday, April 18th, next has been deferred due to the pandemic to Sunday, April 3rd, 2022