The number of births in the country continues to decline. According to Dane figures, in 2023, its lowest level in the last decade was reached, with 515,549 births, that is, 153,588 less than in 2014; In addition, there was a reduction of -10.1% compared to the previous year.
According to Dane, so far in 2024 this trend has accentuated, causing the country to reach the lowest number of births that occurred between January 1 and October 31 of each year, during the last decade, with a total of 371,777 live births. This represents a reduction of -14.4% compared to the same period of the previous year (434,253), that is, 62,476 fewer births.
In this regard, Javier Sebastián Ruiz, director of Censuses and Demographics of Dane, stated that: “The decline in births, which has been occurring for years, has accelerated since 2022. And this drop of 10.1 between 2022 and 2023 is a historic figure, the highest since the vital statistics measurement system was launched in 1998”.
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“The Dane has registered decreases in fertility since 2005. But a sustained decrease is beginning to be seen since 2017, with a great impact that was accentuated by the covid-19 pandemic“added Ruiz.
The departments that recorded the greatest drops in births, Last year, they were: Guainía (-40.7%), Vaupés (-20.0%), Amazonas (-17.8%), Vichada (-16.5%) and Cesar (-15.6%). While La Guajira and Guaviare have shown increases compared to 2014, which may be associated with improvements in the registration of vital events in these territories.
In addition to this, March was consolidated for the second consecutive year as the month with the highest number of births, reaching in 2023 a total of 45,529 live births. For its part, September occupies second place as one of the months with the most births, both in 2023 and so far in 2024, preceded by August in this last period. However, In 2024, no month has exceeded 40,000 births, being June the month with the lowest figure in the 2019-2024 series, with 34,705 live births
Low birth weight
Births
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E low birth weight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is defined as a weight
below 2,500 grams at birth. In Colombia, During 2024 the historical maximum of 11.3% was reached, reflecting a sustained increase during the last decade.
He low birth weight It especially affects the children of mothers without education or with a low educational level, reaching 19.7% in Bogotá in 2023.
According to Dane, In 2023, a total of 268,411 non-fetal deaths were recordedwhich represented a mortality rate of 5.1 per 1,000 inhabitants, continuing with a slightly increasing trend that occurred between 2014 and 2019. While in the period from January to October 2024, there have been reports 227,641 deaths, which represents an increase of 1.6% in
comparison with the same period of the previous year.
VALENTINA DELGADILLO ABELLO
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