TEHRAN – Some 537,127 births were registered in Iran during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), according to the Civil Registration Organization.

The provinces of Tehran with 68,919 newborns, Razavi Khorasan with 51,571, and Sistan-Baluchestan with 43,979 had the highest number of births in the first 6 months of this year.

The provinces of Semnan, Ilam, and Kohgiluyeh-Boyarahmad, respectively, had the lowest number of births in the country.

Also, over the aforementioned period, 208,177 deaths have been registered across the country; Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Isfahan, respectively, recorded the highest death rate. However, the three provinces of Ilam, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, and Semnan recorded the lowest number of deaths.

Births declined in spring

A total of 269,748 births were registered in the spring (March 21-June 21), showing a decrease of 10,816 births compared to the same period last year, according to the report released by the Statistical Center of Iran.

Over the first three months of this year, 130,715 girls and 139,033 boys were born in the country.

The fertility rate declined to 1.71 children in the Iranian calendar year 1399 (March 2020-March 2021), reaching below the replacement level.

Replacement level is the amount of fertility needed to keep the population the same from generation to generation. It refers to the total fertility rate that will result in a stable population without it increasing or decreasing.

Population growth policies

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.

FB/MG