More outside marriage newborns in 2006

37 586 babies were born alive in 2006, registering an insignificant drop compared with 2005, the birth rate constituting 10.5 newborns per 1000 inhabitants, the data of the National Bureau of Statistics show. The birth rate in villages is higher compared with urban settlements, constituting 11.4 and 9.2% respectively. At the same time, the extra-marriage birth rate continues to increase: in 2006 each fourth baby was born outside marriage, including 67.1% in villages. The number of mother under 20 registers a downward trend, accounting for 13% of the total number of babies born alive, as against 15.2% - in 2006 (16.9% - in 2000). During the reported period, the share of II rank newborns (rank – number showing in which order a woman gave birth to her children) increased (from 32.3% in 2005 to 33.1% in 2006), while the share of I, III and IV rank newborns is going down. In 2006 the share of V and higher-rank babies born alive continued to drop in 2006. The majority of children born in families with many children were delivered in rural area – 83.4%. The average age of the mothers who gave birth to their first child was 22.5. Mothers in villages give birth earlier compared with the urban settlements, at 21.8 and 23.8, respectively.