Population change - year 2019

Population growth was the highest over the last 11 years

In 2019, the population of the Czech Republic increased by 44.1 thousand to 10.69 million. The whole increase was ensured by international migration, while the population slightly decreased by natural change. There was a moderate year-on-year decline in the number of births. Conversely, the number of marriages slightly increased.

During the year 2019, the population of the Czech Republic rose by 44.1 thousand to 10.69 million (on 31 Dec.). The population growth was the highest over the last 11 years. The whole increase was caused by positive balance of international migration (44.3 thousand); the balance of natural change was negative. The number of deaths exceeded the number of live births by 131.   

A total of 112.2 thousand children were born alive during the year 2019, by 1.8 thousand less than in 2018. The numbers of children born to women in the first, second and third or higher order were lower year-on-year. The share of births outside marriage decreased for the second year in a row to 48.2%. The married women gave a birth to 58.1 thousand children, the single women to 49.1 thousand children, and the divorced or widowed women gave a birth to 5.0 thousand children. The most children were born to women aged 30, more than one third of children were born to women aged from 28 to 32 years. The fertility remained at a similar level in 2019 as it was in 2018, while according to the preliminary results reached 1.71-1.72 children per woman. That means that the lower number of births is a consequence of changes in age structure of women at reproductive age.

There were a total of 112.4 thousand deaths in 2019, almost by 600 less than in 2018. The number of deceased women was lower year-on-year (55.0 thousand), whereas the number of deceased men (57.3 thousand) stagnated. The highest number of deceased was registered in January (10.4 thousand), and the lowest one in September (8.7 thousand). The largest five-year age group of deceased people was 85–89, both in total and among women. Among men, the deceased aged 70–74 predominated; the situation was the same as in the previous four years. A total of 288 children died during their first year of life. Infant mortality stagnated year-on-year, remained at the level of 2.6‰.

A total of 54.9 thousand marriages were entered into by the inhabitants of the Czech Republic during the year 2019, by 400 more than in previous year. The number of marriages increased for the sixth year in a row; there were more marriages among single, divorced and widowed persons. The highest number of fiancées chose June (10.8 thousand) for their wedding ceremony, with five Saturdays. Of the five-year age groups, the most brides were aged 25–29 years, while the most grooms were aged 30–34 years.

The number of divorces was almost by 200 lower in 2019 in year-on-year comparison, when the Czech courts issued 24.1 thousand decisions about divorces in total. The half of marriages was divorced on the base of a joint petition. The majority of divorces (59%) ended marriages where the minor children lived. They amounted to 22.6 thousand minor children in total. In terms of duration of the marriage at divorce, there were most of divorces with duration from two to four years since the marriage.

According to the preliminary data, there were 31.8 thousand of registered abortions during the year 2019, which was by 1.2 thousand less than in 2018. The spontaneous abortions (12.7 thousand) comprised 40% of the total number, the legally induced abortions (17.7 thousand) represented 56%, and the further 4% related to the ending of ectopic pregnancies (1.3 thousand). One fifth of induced abortions were indicated for health reasons. The most spontaneous abortions were performed to childless women, while induced abortions were the most frequent to women with two children.

In 2019, a total of 65.6 thousand persons immigrated from abroad to the Czech Republic (by 7.4 thousand more than in a previous year). In the opposite way, the number of people emigrated from the Czech Republic was 21.3 thousand (by 1.8 thousand more year-on-year). Due to net migration, the population of the Czech Republic increased by 44.3 thousand. A higher population growth thanks to international migration was recorded in 2008 for the last time. More than 40% of net migration was formed by nationals of Ukraine (18.2 thousand); the second highest was the migration balance of Slovak nationals (4.6 thousand) and the third one belonged to Russian nationals (2.7 thousand). Statistics of international migration of Czechs recorded 2.2 thousand immigrants from abroad, and 3.8 thousand emigrants in 2019.

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Notes:
All data refer to the Czech Republic nationals and foreigners with permanent residence, the third-country nationals with visa for stay over 90 days or long-term residence permit, the EU nationals with temporary residence in the territory of the Czech Republic, and foreigners with asylum granted. The data take into account also information on events (marriages, births, and deaths) of Czech nationals with the permanent residence in the Czech Republic that occurred abroad.
All data for 2019 are preliminary.
Responsible manager: Mgr. Robert Šanda, director of Population Statistics Department, tel. +420 274 052 160, e-mail: robert.sanda@czso.cz
Contact person: Mgr. Michaela Němečková, Demographic Statistics Unit, tel. +420 274 052 184, e-mail: michaela.nemeckova@czso.cz
Data source:
Demographic statistics – results of processing statistical reports of Obyv series
Divorces – Information system of the Ministry of Justice of the CR
Abortions – Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the CR
Migration data – Information System of Inhabitants Records (Ministry of the Interior of the CR) and Alien Information System (Directorate of Alien Police)
End of data collection: 9 March 2020
Related publication: 130062-19 Population of the Czech Republic – year 2019
https://www.czso.cz/current-product/41180
Next News Release: 12 June 2020

Published: 20.03.2020
The data are valid as of the release date of the publication.