TEHRAN - During the first month of the current Iranian calendar year which started March 21, a total of 168,142 births were registered in the country, compared with 71,299 deaths.

The provinces of Tehran with 21,518 births, Khorasan Razavi with 16,777 births, and Sistan-Baluchestan with 14,426 births had the highest number of births in the first month of this year among 31 provinces of the country, according to the Civil Registration Organization.

Meanwhile, Tehran province with 11,353 deaths, Khorasan Razavi province with 5,501 deaths, and Isfahan province with 4,549 deaths respectively had the highest death rate in the country.

President Ebrahim Raisi has urged all responsible bodies and organizations to adopt national policies in line with the goal of population growth.

All the institutions and organizations of the country are obliged to prepare their plans and programs within the framework of the population growth policy and follow up on their implementation seriously, he said, IRIB reported.

He referred to "population" as one of the important and key points in the 7th national development plan (2021-2026).

The president considered promoting the culture of marriage and reducing divorce and helping to solve the problem of infertility as some of the effective factors in increasing the population, which should be the priority of attention and action of all institutions.

In line with the "Law on Family and Youth Support", Iran has introduced several plans, including the facilitation of housing, low-interest loans, and longer maternity leave.

The Guardian Council approved the law on November 17, 2021, to implement a population growth and family support plan for 7 years to change the declining trend of childbearing.

The plan stipulates health insurance for infertile couples, providing services and facilities to working women, providing health and nutrition support packages to mothers and children, educational opportunities for student mothers, providing livelihood support to families, and ongoing medical services to pregnant women.

Also, as per the Law, children and family allowance of all different groups of employees in the relevant institutions, the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Intelligence, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and also faculty members of universities and research institutions, judges and retirees will increase by 50 to 100 percent.

The national budget bill for the current [Iranian calendar] calendar year (March 2022-March 2023), has proposed 120 trillion rials (nearly $300 million) to implement childbearing and family support plans in the country.

MG