The population of the Czech Republic rose year-on-year in 2023, from roughly 10.83 million to 10.90 million, thanks to migration only, as the number of births dropped again to the lowest in 22 years, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) announced today.
The Czech Republic gained 94,700 new inhabitants last year thanks to migration from abroad. On the other hand, the natural population change, i.e. the difference between the number of deaths and births, resulted in a decrease of 21,600 inhabitants. The total increase was therefore about 73,000.
Although more people moved into the country in 2023 than moved out, the number of immigrants fell significantly year-on-year. “A total of 141,300 people immigrated to the Czech Republic from abroad, a 60% drop compared to 2022. The decline is mainly due to a more moderate influx of refugees from Ukraine,” said Michaela Nemeckova, from the CSU demographic statistics department.
By contrast, the number of people who moved out of the Czech Republic more than doubled compared to the previous year. Some 46,600 people left the country last year. “In this case, too, a significant part of the migration was of people with temporary refugee protection,” Nemeckova added.
Temporary protection is given to people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the latest data from the Interior Ministry, there are about 380,000 people in the Czech Republic with temporary protection, which allows refugees access to public health insurance, education and the labour market.
The number of births in the Czech Republic fell by more than 10,000 children (10%) compared to 2022, to around 91,200, the lowest number of live births in the country since 2001.
The number of deaths also fell year-on-year in 2023, but by less than the number of births. The death rate fell by about 7,400 (6%), to 112,800 last year.
The number of marriages also declined last year. It fell by 12% compared to 2022, to about 48,300. The number of divorces (19,500) was similar to the year before. The proportion of marriages ending in divorce was 37%, and the average duration of marriage at divorce was 13.5 years.
