Births, Slovenia, 2020

Fewer than 19,000 live births

In 2020, 18,767 children were born, 561 (or 2.9%) fewer than the year before. Among these, there were 9,693 boys and 9,074 girls. The value of the basic indicator of fertility, which shows an average number of live births per 1,000 population, was 8.9 (2019: 9.3).

The mean age of mother at birth the same as in 2019

In 2020, the mean age for a woman at the first child’s birth remained the same as in 2019: 29.6 years. This applies also to the mean age of mother for all births: it was the same as in 2019 (31.1 years). One of the reasons for the decline in fertility in recent years is that more and more women are postponing having their first child.
The second important reason is the decline in the number of women in reproductive age (15–49 years), which is the consequence of the fertility decrease in the 1980s and 1990s. In one year, from the beginning to the end of 2020, the total number of women in reproductive age has not changed significantly, but the number of women in the most fertile ages (25–34) decreased a lot (by 2,000).

The total fertility rate in 2020: 1.60

Fertility below the population replacement level is characteristic for Slovenia. The total fertility rate in 2020 was 1.60. In 2020, relatively the most children were born to women aged 29 and 30 years, while in the 1965–1985 period the most children were born to mothers aged 20–24 years.

57% of children born to unmarried mothers

8,166 (43.5%) children were born to married mothers and 10,601 (56.5%) to unmarried mothers. The mean age of married mothers (31.3 years) was 0.4 years higher than the mean age of unmarried mothers (30.9 years). Married fathers were on average 34.1 years old, 2.8 years older than married mothers.

13% mothers with foreign citizenship 

One in eight children (2,462 in total) was born to a mother with foreign citizenship, the most to mothers with the citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina (44%) and Kosovo (18%). 11% mothers had the citizenship of one of the other EU Member States. Mothers with foreign citizenship were on average 29.4 years old and were 2 years younger than mothers with Slovene citizenship.

Some additional interesting findings for new-borns in 2020

For the 22nd consecutive year, Luka was the most popular name for new-born boys. The top girl name was again Ema (the name was number one already in 2015 and 2018). The name Luka was given to 303 (3.1%) boys, and Ema to 240 (2.6%) girls. Compared to the top 10 list from 2019, there were five new entries in 2020: Sofija, Lana, Nika, Liam and Lovro, which replaced the names Sara, Lara, Zoja, Jaka and Žan.

On average 51 children per day were born in Slovenia in 2020 (two fewer than a year before). On a working day, from Monday to Friday, on average  55 children were born per day, on Saturday on average 10 children fewer (45), and on Sunday 38 children. In the leap year 2020, 28 children were born on 29 February. 

47% of mothers in 2020 were first-time mothers.

What has changed in the field of fertility compared to 1991?

In 2020, compared to 1991, 2,816 fewer children were born. At that time, 10.8 children per 1,000 population were born, and in 2020, 2 children fewer. The mean age of a mother at the birth of a child has increased by 4.8 years since 1991, and by 5.5 years at the birth of the first child. The share of births to unmarried mothers has more than doubled since Slovenia became independent.

Natural increase in 2020 the lowest since 1945

In Slovenia, natural increase was negative every year from 2017 onwards, as more people die each year than are born. The COVID-19 epidemic and high mortality in 2020, especially in November and December, contributed to greater natural decrease: in 2020, it was −5,249 population or −2.5 per 1,000 population. This is the lowest value of natural increase in Slovenia after 1945.

Data on natural increase by municipalities and regions are published in the SiStat Database.