In 2012, Civil Registry Statistics bring the revised time series of under-registrations of births (those not registered either in the same year or in the first three months of the subsequent year). Just in a single year, the percentage of under-registrations fell from 8.2% in 2011 to 6.7% in 2012. The drop was of 13.6 percentage points since 2002 (20.3%).

The proportion of births whose mothers belonged to younger age groups registered a drop, whereas it rose in the groups over 30 years of age. Nevertheless, the percentage of births whose mothers were aged up to 15 years remained stable, changing from 0.7% in 2002 to 0.8% in 2012.

Although stable in relation to 2011, the marriage rate - number of marriages for each thousand persons aged 15 years and over - increased in the last decade, changing from 5.6% in 2002 to 6.9% in 2012. The group of women aged between 20 and 24 years maintained the biggest share (30.0%) in the total number of marriages, though the biggest increase was in the group aged between 30 and 34 years (from 11.5% in 2002 to 20.2% in 2012).

The divorce rate - number of divorces for each thousand persons aged 20 years and over - was 2.5%, the second highest rate since 2002. The average time elapsed from marriage to divorce decreased from 17 years in 2007 to 15 years in 2012.

Male mortality remained high in some age groups, mainly those between 15 and 19 years and between 20 and 24 years, whose proportion of male deaths in relation to female´s exceeded the ratio of 4 to 1. Among the registered infant deaths, 50.8% were in the early neonatal period, i.e., children up to six days of life. The most important information on Civil Registry Statistics can be accessed on page https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/populacao/registrocivil/2012/default.shtm

The number of births registered in 2012 (2.8 million) stood stable in relation to 2011, just reducing in the Northeast Region (from 808.4 thousand to 792.1 thousand). The so-called under-registration (births not registered in the year or until the end of the first quarter of the following year) fell from 8.2% to 6.7% within a year. The percentage was 20.3% in 2002. 

This information, as well as the under-registration time series started in 2002, was updated according to the population projection by sex and age published by IBGE in 2013.

Late registrations - births not registered in civil registry offices within the year they occurred and incorporated into the Civil Registry Statistics in the following years - also dropped, changing from 10.2% in 2007 to 6.2% in 2012 (185.7 thousand). Among the states, Maranhão registered the biggest reduction, from 67.4% in 2002 to 15.4% in 2012. The highest rate in 2012 was recorded in Pará (27.2%) and the lowest, in São Paulo (1.2%). All the states reduced their percentages when compared with 2007, except for Mato Grosso do Sul (8.8% in 2007 and 13.2% in 2012), where efforts for registering the Indian population increased the number of late registrations.

Civil Registry confirms pattern changes of births

While births to mothers aged under 15 years have been stable along the years (0.7% in 2002 and 0.8% in 2007 and 2012), the percentages dropped in the groups between 15 and 19 years (20.4% in 2002, 19.3% in 2007 and 17.7% in 2012), between 20 and 24 (31.1% in 2002, 29.0% in 2007 and 26,0% in 2012) and between 25 and 29 years (23.3% in 2002, 24.8% in 2007 and 24.6% in 2012). On the other hand, increases were reported in the groups between 30 and 34 years (14.4% in 2002, 15.7% in 2007 and 19.0% in 2012), between 35 and 39 (7.1% in 2002, 7.6% in 2007 and 9.0% in 2012) and between 40 and 44 years (1.9% in 2002, 2.0% in 2007 and 2.2% in 2012).

The proportions of births to mothers aged between 30 and 34 years in the Southeast (21.4%) and in the South (20.7%) were higher than those between 15 and 19 years (15.2% and 16.2%, respectively). The proportions of births to mothers aged between 15 and 19 years in the North (23.2%) and in the Northeast (20.2%) were even higher than the rates in the Southeast (18.4%) and in the South (19.4%) in 2002.

Marriage rate remains 6.9% in 2012

1,041,440 marriages were registered in 2012, 1.4% more than in the previous year. Among them, 1,040,473 were of spouses aged 15 years and over, which maintained the marriage rate stable in relation to 2011: 6.9 marriages per thousand (%) inhabitants aged 15 years and over. The marriage rate tended to increase between 2002 and 2012, though at much lower levels than those recorded in the 1970s, when it was 13%. 

In 2012, the highest marriage rates were posted in Rondônia (10.3%), the Federal District (8.7%), Espírito Santo (8.7%) and Goiás (8.6%). These states also reported the highest rates in 2011 (9.5%, 8.8%, 8.2% and 8.4%, respectively). The lowest rates were registered in Rio Grande do Sul (4.6%), the same as in the previous year; Amapá, (5.0%), higher than in 2011 (3.9%); and Maranhão (5.0%), lower than in 2011 (5.2%).

In 2012, 2.9% of the male spouses were aged less than 20 years, whereas 12.4% of the female spouses fit within this age bracket. The highest marriage rate for women remained in the group between 20 and 24 years (30.0%), close to 2007 (30.2%), yet tending to decline. The rate in 2012 (15.3%) was lower than that in 2002 (15.7%) in the group aged between 15 and 19 years. The group between 25 and 29 years continuously rose in this period (from 21.2% in 2002 to 29.0% in 2012), pointing out to the increase of the average age women married. The marriage rates of women are higher than men´s only in the two younger age groups. The rate was 15.3% for women between 15 and 19 years, whereas the rate for men stayed at 3.5%. The men´s rates (3.8%) are more than twice those of women´s over 60 years of age.

Women older than men in one out of four marriages

Despite the changes in the age pattern, marriages in which the male spouse was older were the majority (76.0%). Nevertheless, the proportion of marriages in which women were older than men was increasing: from 20.7% in 2002 to 24.0% in 2012, which took place in all the Major Regions. 

In 2012, the median age of single men increased (from 26 years in 2002 to 28 in 2012), as well as single women´s (from 23 to 25) at marriage time. It also took place in the majority of the Federation Units. The exceptions were recorded in Acre (29 years) and in Amapá (30 years), where men´s median ages remained stable in relation to 2002.

Percentage of remarriages changed from 13.4% to 21.8% in 10 years

Marriages between single spouses still prevailed in 2012, yet tending to decline. The reduction was of 8.4 percentage points since 2002, changing from 86.6% to 78.2% of all marriages. Remarriages were in the reverse way: from 13.4% in 2002 to 21.8% of all the formal unions in 2012.

50.8% of registered infant deaths in early neonatal period

Infant deaths were analyzed according to three components: early neonatal (children up to 6 days of life), late neonatal (between 7 and 27 days) and post neonatal (between 28 and 364 days).

In 2012, 50.8% of registered infant deaths were in the early neonatal period, 31.9% were in the post neonatal period and 17.3% were in the late neonatal period (table 5), yet the percentages of post neonatal deaths remained significant. Post neonatal deaths prevailed in Brazil until the late 1980s, when the early and late neonatal components began to prevail, representing 68.1% of all deaths under 1 year of age in 2012.

Infant deaths tend to concentrate in the early neonatal component with the improvements in the areas of sanitation and health. 90% of infant deaths were concentrated between 0 and 6 days of age in more developed and less unequal countries. 

Divorce rate in 2012, second highest since 2002

341,600 divorces were granted in the first instance with no appeals or through extrajudicial deeds in 2012, representing a reduction of 1.4% in relation to 2011. As a result, the overall divorce rate[1] (2.5%) slightly declined, yet maintaining above the level reported before the publication of the Constitutional Amendment no. 66 in July 2010. The divorce rate recorded in 2012 (2.5%) was the second highest rate in the time series (graph 15).

In 2012, the highest overall divorce rates were posted in the Federal District, Rondônia and Mato Grosso do Sul (respectively, 4.4%, 4.0% and 4.0%).

Among women, the highest divorce rates were registered in the age groups between 30 and 49 years (6.8%) and, among men, in the age group between 45 and 49 years (7.4%). The divorce rates of younger women were higher than younger men up to the group between 30 and 34 years, and lower in the age groups above 35 years (graph 16).

Average duration of marriages drops

Considering the granted divorces with no appeals and the divorce deeds in notary offices, the average time elapsed between the marriage date and the divorce sentencing date dropped from 17 years in 2007 to 15 years in 2012. All the Federation Units recorded such reduction, in relation to 2007. The recent legal possibilities for divorcing may have helped to formalize informal dissolutions.

Male mortality among youngsters more than four times the female´s

In 2012, male mortality remained high in some age groups, mainly those between 15 and 19 years and between 20 and 24 years - whose proportion of male deaths in relation to female´s exceeded the ratio of 4 to 1 (table 6) -, especially caused by violent and accidental deaths.

Sergipe (80.7%), Bahia (78.3%) and Alagoas (77.7%) posted the highest proportions of violent deaths among male youngsters between 15 and 24 years. Such high percentages were reported in the majority of the Brazilian states.