Population change - 1st quarter of 2021

The population of the Czech Republic decreased and went back below 10.7 million (to the level that exceeded last June for the first time) during the first quarter of the year. The population decrease was caused by large natural decrease, or by record number of deaths. The number of live births increased slightly year-on-year, while the number of marriages and divorces was lower. The number of immigrants exceeded the number of emigrants.

During the first quarter, the population of the Czech Republic decreased by 7.3 thousand. At the beginning of 2021, the population was 10.702 million, while on March 31 it was 10.694 million. The decline in the population was due to the negative balance of the natural change; the number of deaths was higher by 19.2 thousand than the number of live births. The balance of net migration remained in positive numbers and reached 11.9 thousand people.

“A total of 27.2 thousand children were born alive in the first quarter of 2021. It was by five hundred more than in the same period of 2020, when the number of births was still slightly lower year-on-year in January and higher in February and especially in March,” Michaela Němečková from Population Statistics Department, says. In the previous two years, the quarterly numbers of live births had regularly decreased year-on-year. This year’s increase was due to higher number of second-born children (10.5 thousand live births), while the number of children born in the first (12.8 thousand) and the third or higher order (3.9 thousand) remained almost the same. The share of live births outside marriage slightly increased year-on-year from 48.6% to 48.8%. The growth was driven by a higher share of the live births outside marriage among the firstborn children in the first quarter of this year (59.5% compared to 57.6% in the first quarter of 2020).

The number of deaths amounted to 46.4 thousand from beginning of January to the end of March. In comparison to the first quarter of the previous year it was by 16.2 thousand (or by 54%) higher.

The highest year-on-year increase was registered in March (by 63%). There were also the most deaths of this quarter in March – 16.7 thousand. The year-on-year increase in the number of deaths was higher in men than women (by 63%; among women by 44%) and in terms of age the highest increase were registered in population aged 75-79 (by 76%) and 70-74 years (by 73%). A total of 56 children died during their first year of life. It was by 11 less than in the same period of the previous year, which corresponds with the infant mortality rate of 2.1‰.

During the first quarter, 2.7 thousand engaged couples entered into marriages, by 1.1 thousand less than in the same period of 2020. While in January and February there were fewer marriages year-on-year, in March it was more. The highest monthly total in the 1st quarter belonged to February (1.0 thousand), when as in 2020 the couples were attracted by popular dates. Most grooms were aged 30-34, while most brides were aged 25-29.

The number of divorces that came into force by the end of March 2021 was 5.0 thousand, by 0.6 thousand less in the year-on-year comparison. The majority of divorces (54%) were initiated by a joint divorce petition by both husband and wife. In terms of duration of the marriage at divorce, the most marriages ended after two to five years. Compared to the previous year, the share of divorced marriages with minor children increased (from 59 to 62%). A total of 4.9 thousand minor children were affected by the divorce.

According to the data taken from administrative data sources 19.1 thousand people immigrated to the Czech Republic during the first quarter and 7.2 thousand people moved abroad. The net migration reached 11.9 thousand, which represented a year on year increase of 7.4 thousand. The vast majority of the 4.3 thousand year-on-year increase in immigrants took place in March. The number of emigrants decreased year-on-year by 3.2 thousand in the first quarter. As in previous years, the highest positive balance was recorded for citizens of Ukraine (6.4 thousand). The second highest net migration was for citizens of Slovakia (0.8 thousand), the third for citizens of Russia (0.5 thousand) and the fourth for Czech citizens (0.5 thousand).
 

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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 2021 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: 1 June 2021
Related publication: 130062-21 Population of the Czech Republic – 1st quarter of 2021
https://www.czso.cz/current-product/41180
Next News Release: 13 September 2021