Birth rate plunges to record low in second quarter

The city’s demographic challenges deepened in the second quarter of this year as the number of births fell to a record low, according to data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). Between April and June, only 650 live births were recorded in the territory – a 5.8% decline from the previous quarter and the lowest quarterly figure since at least 1998, the earliest year for which DSEC provides comparable data. The number represents a 3.1% drop from the same period last year, when 671 births were recorded, which was itself a historic low. The latest figures underscore the […]