The population of the Czech Republic dropped by 21,500 in the first half of the year, to 10.88 million people, as more people died than were born and immigration was also lower than in the previous year, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) announced today.
Compared to the first half of 2023, there were significantly fewer births and marriages in the country this year. The number of new births in the first half of 2024 fell by one-tenth year-on-year.
“From January to June this year, 41,600 children were born alive,” said Michaela Nemeckova from CSU’s Demographic Statistics Department, adding that the number of births had fallen at a similar rate in the previous two years.
The number of children born to women in the 25-29 age group declined the most, by 15%.
In the first six months of this year, 55,500 people died, a 3% decline compared to the same period last year. Most of the men who died were aged between 75 and 79 years, while the women were aged 80-84 years.
A total of 62,700 people immigrated to the Czech Republic from abroad in the first half of the year, down 13,800 year-on-year, while 70,200 emigrated from the country. Consequently, the Czech Republic lost more than 7,500 inhabitants as a result of migration.
“In fact, the balance of foreign migration was negative only in March, but significantly so,” said the CSU report. According to authors, the decline was mainly due to Ukrainian refugees ending their stay in the country, as their temporary protection status expired in late March and many did not apply for an extension.
In the first six months of this year, 18,600 couples got married, 7% fewer than in the same period last year. There were fewer new marriages year-on-year in all six months except for April.
According to preliminary data, 10,500 married couples were divorced in the first half of the year. Nearly 58% of these couples had at least one child living together with them at the time of the divorce.
