The number of infants born alive last year was of 30,730, down over 5% compared with 2019. Of the infants born alive, 52.4% were boys, the masculinity ratio being of 110 boys to 100 girls. 58.1% of the newborns were born by mothers younger than 30. In towns, the largest number of babies were born by mothers aged between 25 and 34, while in rural areas – by mothers aged between 20 and 29, IPN reports.

The National Bureau of Statistics said the number of children born inside marriage in 2020 was of 80.2% (24,642), while each fifth child was born outside marriage (6.088 persons or 19.8%).

By areas of residence, the number of newborns in urban areas in 2020 was by 6,432 children (34.6%) lower than in rural areas. This way, 12,149 children were born in urban areas, as opposed to 18,581 children in rural areas.

In towns, the families with four and more children are lower in number, most of such families being from rural areas.

The babies born to mothers younger than 20 represented 5.9% of the total number of children born alive, as a year before. The ratio of babies to women who gave birth at the age of 15 to 19 was 27.34:1 000 women of reproductive age. The figure is by about 1.2 percentage points lower than in 2019.

In 2020, the average age of the women who gave birth for the first time was 25.2, as against 25.1 in 2019. In the southern region of Moldova, the average age was 24.1, while in Telenești was the lowest – 23.2. The mothers who gave birth at an older age are from the municipality of Chisinau – 27.7.