An official at the National Organization for Civil Registration said birth rates in the country had increased by 4.3 % in the first seven months of the current year (started March 21). Ali Akbar Mahzoon told ISNA 890,031 babies were born during this period, of which 457,787 were boys and 432, 244, were girls. He also said 685, 862 of the births occurred in urban areas and 204,169 were in rural areas.
Mahzoon said the increase has been due to the awareness created by the media and the campaign to increase population growth. “People are sensitized to population issues,” he said.
The official further said the number of births in the country is being closely monitored to determine when a steady growth rate would be achieved. “Although the first seven months showed steady birth rates, timely marriages and fewer number of divorces can help stabilize vital statistics in population growth as we are still far from balanced growth in the population,’’ he maintained.
Marriage and Divorce
On the number of marriages, Mahzoon said 430, 160 marriages took place in the same period – 363, 140 in urban areas and 67,020 in rural areas. There were also 89, 802 divorces during the period - 82,349 in cities and 7,453 in the countryside. “Every hour 17 divorces were registered, an increase over the same period last year.”
He added that among the 247,442 deaths recorded in the first seven months of the calendar year - 168,182 were in urban areas and 79, 260 in rural areas.
