Population change - 1st - 3rd quarter of 2020

The population of the Czech Republic increased by 13.9 thousand till the end of September and overcame 10.7 million. This growth was almost 60% lower in comparison with the same period of the last year. While natural increase was negative, the net migration had a positive balance. The number of marriages decreased significantly, the number of births and divorces was also lower in year-on-year comparison. The number of deaths slightly grew up. 

The population of the Czech Republic increased by 13.9 thousand, from 10.69 million at the beginning of the year to 10.71 million at the end of September. The pace of the growth was slower than in the previous years. In comparison to the same period last year, the increase was lower by 19.1 thousand (i.e. by almost 60%). It was the result of both natural decrease (the number of deceased was higher by 1.7 thousand than the number of live births) and lower net migration that interannually decreased by almost 50% (by 15.5 thousand), i.e. on 15.6 thousand.

A total number of 83.3 thousand children were born alive between January and September, i.e. by 2.6 thousand less than in the same period last year. This relative decline affected to the same extent (by 3%) the number of children born to both married (43.0 thousand) and unmarried women (40.3 thousand). Concerning birth order and family status of mothers, the most numerous group of children was the one of those born in the first order to single mothers (22.3 thousand), followed by 19.3 thousand children born in the second order to married women. The share of live births outside marriage represented 48.4% of all live births, i.e. little bit more than in the same period last year (48.1%). The half of children were born to women aged 27 to 33 years; modal age was 31 years. 

The number of deaths reached 85.0 thousand during the first three quarters of this year, by one thousand more than in the same period of 2019. While during the first half of the year similar number of people deceased interannually, the number of deaths in the third quarter was 4% higher in comparison to the same period of the last year. It was due to the highest interannual difference of deceased (by 8%) that was recorded in September. The average age of deaths was 73.1 years and 79.9 years for men and women respectively (76.4 years for both genders together). The share of people dying at the age of 85 years or higher reached almost one third (31%).  A total number of 192 children died during their first year of life, thus the infant mortality rate remained at an exceptionally low level (2.3‰).

During the first nine months of this year 38.1 thousand marriages were recorded, which was by 9.6 thousand less than a year earlier. Major decrease was noticed in the second quarter of the year, when the number of marriages fell by half. The lowest number of marriages was registered in March (less than 0.7 thousand). Contrary to that, the highest number of marriages was realized in August (10.0 thousand), followed by September (8.4 thousand). Most of the grooms got married at the age of 28–30 years, while the brides were mostly between 27 to 29 years old. Three fourths of marriages were the first ones.

The number of divorces that came into force between January and September was 15.7 thousand, by 2.2 thousand less in the year-on-year comparison. Partly, it could have been due to the limited courts activity in the state of emergency. More than half of the proposals to divorce were submitted by both husband and wife. Minor children lived in families of 58 % of divorced couples. In terms of duration of the marriage at divorce, the most marriages ended after 2 to 5 years.

According to the data taken from administrative data sources a total of 41.5 thousand people immigrated to the Czech Republic from January to September 2020, which meant by 6.6 thousand less than in the same period of 2019. The main decline of immigration occurred in the second quarter of the year, especially in April. On contrary, the number of emigrants increased by 8.9 thousand to 25.9 thousand. The net migration reached 15.6 thousand between January and September 2020, which represented an interannual decrease of 50%. Ukraine nationals had the highest positive migration balance (as in previous years): 11.0 thousand. Slovaks (1.5 thousand) and Russians (1.3 thousand) followed. On the other hand, the largest predominance of emigrants over immigrants was registered in nationals of Great Britain (−1.4 thousand), Polish citizens (−1.1 thousand) and Germans (−0.6 thousand), for whom the migration balance was usually positive in previous years. This change is largely related to the administrative procedures following the legislative limitation of the validity of temporary residence permits for EU citizens for a period of 10 years. However, their exact extent cannot be determined from the available sources. The international migration balance of Czech nationals remained negative, but the loss was about one-fourth (−335 persons) compared to the same period in 2019.
 

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Notes:

All data refer to citizens of the Czech Republic and foreigners with permanent residence in the Czech Republic, third-country nationals with temporary residence in the territory of the Czech Republic based on a long-term visa (over 90 days) or a permanent residence permit, nationals of the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and their dependants with notified temporary residence in the territory of the Czech Republic and foreigners with valid asylum status in the Czech Republic. The data contain also information on events (marriages, births, and deaths) of Czech citizens with the permanent residence in the Czech Republic that occurred abroad and were registered by the special registry office in Brno.

All data for 2020 are preliminary.

Responsible manager: Mgr. Robert Šanda, director of Population Statistics Department, tel. +420 274 052 160, e-mail: robert.sanda@csu.gov.cz
Contact person: Mgr. Michaela Němečková, Demographic Statistics Unit, tel. +420 274 052 184, e-mail: michaela.nemeckova@csu.gov.cz
Data source: Demographic statistics – results of processing statistical reports of Obyv series
Divorces – Information system of the Ministry of Justice of the CR
Migration data – Information System of Inhabitants Records (Ministry of the Interior of the CR) and Alien Information System (Directorate of Alien Police)
End of data collection: 30 November 2020
Related publication: 130062-20 Population of the Czech Republic – 1st – 3rd quarter of 2020
https://www.czso.cz/current-product/41180
Next News Release: 22 March 2021