59,796 babies were born here last year.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office have revealed a 20.02% drop in the amount of babies born in Ireland in 2019 when compared to 2009.
There were 59,796 babies born in Ireland last year which is 20% less than the over 70,000 born here in 2009.
Of the babies born in the country last year, the CSO stated that 46,036 (77.0%) were born to mothers of Irish nationality compared to 47,110 (77.2%) in 2018.
10.4% of births to mothers of EU 16 to EU 28 nationality, 2.1% of mothers were of UK nationality, and 2.0% were of EU 15 nationality (excluding Ireland and the UK).
Mothers of nationalities other than Ireland, UK and the EU accounted for 8.4% of total births registered. There were 29 mothers where the nationality was not stated.
The average age of a woman giving birth last year was 33, while the average age of a first-time mother was 31.3.
When it came to the location of the births, the CSE said: ''The highest number of births registered was in Dublin City with 6,861 (11.5% of total live births in the country) followed by Cork County with 5,249 (8.8%) registered births. Leitrim had the lowest number with 438 (0.7%) registered births in 2019. The same pattern was reflected in 2018 when Dublin City accounted for 7,041 or 11.5% of births followed by Cork County with 5,541 (9.1%). Leitrim also had the lowest number, 399 births (or 0.7%), registered in 2018''.
