Population change - 1st half of 2020

At the end of the first half of this year, the population of the Czech Republic remained just below 10.7 million. During the first six months of this year, the number of population increased by five thousand; it was the population increase at the level of only a quarter of an increase in the same period of 2019. Measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 disease were reflected in a record low number of marriages. The number of births and divorces was also lower this year, while the number of deaths remained at the level of the previous year.

The population of the Czech Republic continued to grow during the first half of this year. However, the growth rate was significantly lower than in previous years. This year's increase, amounting 5.2 thousand people, consisted only a quarter of population increase recorded in the first half of 2019. The population thus increased from 10.694 million to 10.699 million from the beginning of this year to the end of June. The lower year-on-year population increase was mainly due to a lower net migration, but partly also due to a more significant natural decrease. The number of deaths in the first half of 2020 exceeded the number of live births by 3.1 thousand.

A total of 53.8 thousand children were born alive in the months of January to June. The number of live births was almost 1.9 thousand lower than in the first half of 2019. The decline in the number of births largely have reflected changes in the age structure, when the numerically weak generations of women born in the 1990s have been moving to the age of the highest fertility. The number of births of married women decreased by 3% year-on-year (to 27.9 thousand); the number of births of unmarried women decreased by the same extent (to 25.8 thousand). The share of live births outside marriage represented 48.1% of all live births; this share stagnated year-on-year. The half of children were born to women aged 27 to 33 years. Less than 48% of children were born in the first order, 38% of children were second-born, and 14% of children were born in the third or even higher order.

The number of deaths reached 56.9 thousand during the first half of this year, by 245 less than in the same period of 2019. Compared to the period of the first half of the previous five years, the number of deaths this year corresponded to the average. The highest monthly number of deceased people was registered in January and March (10.2 thousand in both months). Almost a third (31%) of the deceased were at the age of 85 and over. The share of people aged 85 and over was twice as high for deceased women as for deceased men (42% vs. 20%). A total of 127 children died during their first year of life between January and June 2020, so the infant mortality rate was 2.4‰ and remained at a very low level.

The number of marriages during the first half of this year was low – 13.4 thousand, which was 9.6 thousand lower than a year earlier. The number of marriages decreased year-on-year in all months except February. The most significant decrease was recorded in April, when the number of marriages fell by four-fifths year-on-year (to 740). However, the historical minimum was recorded in March: 631 marriages represent the lowest monthly number of marriages entered into in the more than 100-year history of the Czech Republic. Compared to the period of the first half of 2019, a higher share of divorced or widowed people (30%) were among grooms and brides this year. The average age of brides and grooms was also higher.

The number of divorces that came into force this year by the end of June was 10.2 thousand, by 2.3 thousand less in the year-on-year comparison. However, the lower number of divorces is probably also due to limited courts activity in the state of emergency, as the largest year-on-year decrease in divorces was in April, followed by May and March. The majority of divorces (59%) ended marriages where the minor children had lived. A total of 9.4 thousand minor children were affected by the divorce. On the contrary, a total of 41% divorces terminated marriages without minor children. In terms of duration of the marriage at divorce, there were the most of divorces with duration from 2 to 5 years since the marriage.

According to the preliminary data taken from administrative data sources a total of 26.4 thousand people immigrated to the Czech Republic from abroad during the months of January to June 2020, which was by 5.7 thousand less than in the first half of 2019. The decrease in immigrants occurred in the second quarter of the year, when the most significant decrease was in April. On the other hand, the number of emigrants from the Czech Republic to abroad this year increased by 7.0 thousand to 18.1 thousand year-on-year. The numbers of emigrants were higher in all months of the first half of the year compared to 2019. The balance of net migration reached 8.3 thousand in the first half of the year, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 60%, respectively it was 12.7 thousand lower. The highest positive migration balance (as in previous years) was registered with nationals of Ukraine (6.9 thousand), but it was one-fifth lower year-on-year. The second highest was the migration balance of Russian nationals (1.1 thousand) and the third one belonged to nationals of Romania (0.5 thousand). The net migration of Slovak nationals, which was the second highest in the first half of 2019, reached a negative value this year
(-124). In the first half of 2020 the largest predominance of emigrants over immigrants was recorded for nationals of Great Britain (-1.4 thousand) followed by nationals of Poland (-0.8 thousand) and Germany (-0.7 thousand), for whom the migration balance was usually positive in previous years. This change is largely related to administrative procedures following the legislative limitation of the validity of temporary residence permits for EU citizens for a period of 10 years. However, their extent cannot be determined from the available sources. The international migration balance of Czech nationals remained traditionally negative, but the loss this year was about one-fifth (-112) 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: 2 September 2020
Related publication: 130062-20 Population of the Czech Republic –1st half of 2020
https://www.czso.cz/current-product/41180
Next News Release: 11 December 2020