A number of 40,803 children were born in Moldova in 2009, up 4.6% (1,785) from 2008. More than a half of them were boys, Info-Prim Neo has learned from the National Bureau of Statistics. The birth rate in villages is higher than in urban settlements. 80.9% of the children born in large families were born in villages. The statistical data show that the percentage of children born outside marriage continues to be high – 22.9% in 2009 or each fifth child. 73.7% of the children were born to mothers who are at the first marriage. The divorces in families with minor children last year constituted 28.4% of the total. 4,700 children were affected by divorces in 2009. The mortality rate among children, including infants, is still high - 493 babies under one in 2009. As many as 3,101 children remained without parental care last year. 1,147 of them were placed in residential institutions, while 1,954 – in family-type children’s homes. The children younger than 18 represent 21.5% of Moldova’s population.