BANTRY had the lowest birth rate in Cork in 2022 and was one of just 15 areas nationally with more deaths than births the same year, new figures show.
Data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveals there were a total of 5,912 births in Cork that year, with 3,735 in the county and 2,177 in the city. Deaths totalled 4,124 in 2022, with 1,640 in the city and 2,484 in the county.
Skibbereen had more than double the national rate of external causes of death, including suicide and accidents, at 63 per 100,000. This was the third highest rate in Ireland in 2022.
The highest birth rates in 2022 were in Macroom (11.4 per 1,000 people) followed by Kanturk (11.1) with Bantry recording the lowest rate (8.1) and the city’s North East and South Central wards (8.5).
The West Cork town was one of just 15 areas nationally which recorded more deaths than births in 2022, with a rate of -0.3 per 100,000. Bantry’s population as of the 2022 census is 2,929.
The statistics, published earlier this week, show there were 418 births and 262 deaths in Bandon-Kinsale, 196 births and 205 deaths in Bantry, 327 births and 303 deaths in Skibbereen, and 461 births and 266 deaths in Macroom.
There were 304 births and 230 deaths in Kanturk, 433 births and 297 deaths in Fermoy, 465 births and 302 deaths in Midleton, 397 births and 185 deaths in Carrigaline, and 397 births and 215 deaths in Cobh. In the city, there were 436 births and 354 deaths in the North West ward, 394 births and 298 deaths in the North East, 464 births and 313 deaths in the South East, 346 births and 294 deaths in South Central, and 537 births and 381 deaths in the South West.
Some 1,127 were due to neoplasms (including cancers), and 1,174 due to diseases of the circulatory system. Respiratory diseases accounted for 433, mental and behavioural disorders 285, and ‘external causes’ 215.
