TEHRAN –Within the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 2023), 29,728 multiples were born in the country, according to the Civil Registration Organization.

Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Khuzestan provinces had the highest number of multiple births with 4,318, 2,622, and 2,351 cases respectively, IRNA reported.

Out of the registered multiple births, 28,148 were twins, 1,506 were triplets, 64 were quadruplets, and 10 were higher-order multiple births.

Some 34.6 percent of registered births were first-born children; 38.9, 17.6, 5.1, and 2 percent were related to second-born to fifth-born children.

Multiple births last year

During the past Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023), 38,321 multiples were born in the country.

Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, Khuzestan, and Isfahan provinces had the highest number of multiple births with 6,093 cases, 3,096 cases, 2,864 cases, and 2,121 cases respectively, ISNA reported.

Last year, a total of 18,205 twins, 602 triplets, and 25 quadruplets were born in the country.

Baby boys outpacing girls

Some 51.9 percent of babies born in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year were boys, outpacing girls with 48.1 percent.

According to the Civil Registration Organization, the ratio of male to female births in this period was 108, which shows a 0.9% growth compared to the same period last year (104), IRNA reported.

It is emphasized that the number of male births in the world is more than the number of female births. The 'natural' sex ratio at birth is around 103 to 107.

This ratio gradually decreases in the following years due to the high death rate of the males. Around 20-25 years of age, this ratio is balanced and reaches 100.

Based on the statistics of the Civil Registration Organization, the average age of the mother at the first childbirth is 27.4 in the whole country in the six-month period.

The figure is 28.1 in urban areas and 24.4 in rural areas. The highest average age of mothers at first childbearing is in Tehran province, 30.3, and the lowest is in Sistan-Baluchestan province, 22.6.

Also, in the mentioned six months, 524,637 births were registered in the country; Tehran province with 66, 035 and Semnan province with 3,387 births hold the record for the highest and lowest number of births in the country.

Population growth policies

Paying attention to the law on supporting families and the youth will pave the way for the development of the country and will also reduce the population crises, but the accurate and timely implementation of the law requires willpower both from people and officials.

According to the national center for monitoring population policies, from 2001 to 2015, the number of births has been increasing in the country, but after 2015, the number of births started to decrease with an almost steep slope.

In 2020, the number of births in the country (1,114,000) decreased by more than 29 percent compared to 2015 (1,570,000), a decrease of more than 450,000 births, which was unprecedented in the last few decades.

The number of births in the year 2021 (1,116,000) also shows an increase of about 2,000 compared to the year 2020.

Also, the rate of births from about 20 per thousand population in 2015 has reached its lowest level in the last 50 years with a significant decrease to 13.24 per thousand population in 2021.

The population growth rate reached 0.73 percent in 2020 and 0.68 percent in 2021 despite an increase of 2,000 births compared to 2020.

Estimates show that due to the slight increase in births last year compared to 2020, the population growth rate this year will also decrease.

Also, as long as the fertility rate is below the replacement level, it is expected that the country will face a further decrease in the population growth rate in the coming years.

In Iran, about 10.5 percent of the population was over 60 years old in 2020. In 2050, the population over 60 years is forecast to increase to 33 percent.

Also, about 7 percent of the population was over 65 years old in 2020. In 2030, the population over 65 years is forecast to increase to about 10 percent.

MT/MG