Births in Peru have dropped 57% in nine years

The number of births in Peru has fallen consecutively since 2012, when 738,945 were registered, 57% more than those in 2021, which were 318,007, the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (Reniec) reported on Monday, August 1.

According to this agency, among the causes of this decrease in births is a decrease in marriages, since 44,593 marriages were registered in 2020, a decrease of almost 50% compared to 2019, with 84,738 registrations.

Reniec also highlighted that the number of pregnancies of teenage mothers dropped in recent years, as in 2018, there were 30,213 registrations, while in 2020, there were 18,690.

“While there is a decrease, there is still an issue about teenage mothers. All this data that we make available will serve academics and entities to analyze these causes,” said the national head of Reniec, Carmen Velarde, in the information released.

But against this reality, the number of pregnancies of Peruvian girls increased in 2021 by 22% this year, at least 1,436 under 15 years old were mothers, while this figure reached 1,177 in 2020, which worry experts because of the severe consequences that these pregnancies generate in minors.

The United Nations Population Fund of Peru affirms that even though Peruvians marry later, the age of first sexual relations has dropped, leading to a higher rate of child pregnancies.

With information from EFE