According to preliminary data, 5,696 children were born in May 2025 and 9,639 people died. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the number of births decreased by 10%, and the number of deaths dropped by 2.3%, while the number of marriages increased by 2.5%, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported on Friday.
The statement notes that in May, 5,696 children were born — 654 fewer (a 10% decrease) than in May 2024. During the same month, 9,639 people died, 226 fewer (a 2.3% decrease) than a year earlier. As a result, natural population decline was 3,943 people, compared to 3,515 in May 2024.
Additionally, 5,645 couples were married in May — 135 more (a 2.5% increase) than a year ago.
From January to May, 29,018 children were born, 9% (2,863) fewer than during the same period in 2024. Specifically, live births fell by 4.2% in January, 8.6% in February–March, and 12% in April–May compared to the same months in 2024.
The total fertility rate — the estimated number of children a woman would bear — is now 1.27, down from 1.37 a year earlier.
Between January and May, 55,062 people died — 1,638 more (a 3.1% increase) than in the same period the previous year. Deaths rose by 7.8% in January, 0.7% in February, 7.1% in March, and 0.9% in April, while May saw a 2.3% decrease.
As a result of the difference between births and deaths, the natural population decline reached 26,044 people — 21% higher than the 21,543 recorded the year before.
In the same period, 15,745 marriages were registered — 520 fewer (a 3.2% decrease) than a year earlier. Marriage rates dropped by 4.3% in January, 14% in February, and 3.9% in March–April, but increased by 2.5% in May compared to the same months in 2024.
Based on the data, there were 7.4 live births and 14.0 deaths per 1,000 residents. The birth rate dropped by 0.7 per thousand, while the death rate rose by 0.5 per thousand compared to January–May 2024. The natural decrease increased by 1.2 per thousand to 6.6 per thousand. Infant mortality per 1,000 live births was 3.2 — 0.9 lower than the previous year’s figure. The marriage rate was 4.0 per thousand, 0.1 lower than a year earlier.
According to the report, between June 2024 and May 2025, 74,648 children were born — 7,758 fewer (a 9.4% drop) than in the previous 12-month period. During this time, 129,108 people died — 2,999 more (a 2.4% increase), and 46,041 couples got married — 5,198 fewer (a 10% decrease) than in the preceding year.
(MTI)
