In 2016, a total 2,793,935 occurred and were registered in Brazil, having recorded decrease (-5.1%) in the comparison with 2015, when 2,945,344 births had been registered. That is the first decrease recorded since 2010, including Brazil and Major Regions. Among the Federation Units, Roraima had a slight positive change.

The number of civil marriages amounted to 1,095,535 all over the country, being 5,354 between same-sex persons. There was decrease over 2015 (-3.7%), observed in both heterosexual and same-sex marriages, except in the Southeast and in the Central West, where the number of same-sex marriages increased.

In 2016, a total 344,526 divorces were granted by courts of first instance or as extrajudicial divorces, with an increase of 4.7% in relation to the 2015 figure, when 328,960 divorces had been granted. 

The volume of deaths registered in Brazil between 2006 and 2016 increased by 24.7%, with a significant reduction of mortality up to age 14 and increase at older ages, mainly of persons aged over 50, as a reflection of population aging. In 2016, considering only deaths by external causes, a man aged 20 had eleven times more chances of not reaching age 25 than a woman.

Information about those and other related topics can be found in the 2016 Survey of Vital Statistics. Click here to see the complete publication.

Births record first decrease since 2010

For the first time since 2010, there has been decrease in the number of births registered in the country and in all the Major Regions. Against 2015, Brazil recorded an average decrease of 5.1% in births. The South had the lowest decrease, -3.8%, and, the Central West, the highest -5.6%.

The state of Pernambuco recorded the biggest decrease in the number of registered births (-10.0%) in the Northeast and in Brazil. Roraima was the only Federation Unit to record increase in the number of births occurred and registered between 2015 and 2016, 3.9%. In the North Region, Tocantins faced the biggest decrease in birth registration (-8.0%). In the Northeast, the biggest and the smallest decreases were recorded in Maranhão (-2.3%) and in Pernambuco (-10.0%), respectively. In the Southeast, decreases ranged from -5.1% in São Paulo and -6.5% in Rio de Janeiro. The South Region had slightly lower decrease in births, with -2.2% em Santa Catarina and -4.7% in Rio Grande do Sul. In the Central West, the biggest and smallest decreases in the number of births were recorded in Mato Grosso (-6.8%) and in Mato Grosso do Sul (-4.0%).

The percent distribution of births by age group of the mother remained unchanged in comparison with the 2015 figure. In the North Region, most births (29.6%) took place in the group aged 20-24. Mothers from the South and Southeast, on the other hand, belong to older age groups in the curve that shows birth by age of the mother. In those locations, most mothers are between 25-29 years of age (South, 24.7% and Southeast, 24.3%), 20-24 years of age (23.5%) and 30-34 years of age (22.1%)

Marriages face decrease of 3.7% from 2015 to 2016

In 2016, a total 1,095,535 civil marriages were registered in Brazil, being 5,354 of them between same-sex persons. There was decrease of 3.7% against the 2015 figure. Decrease was observed in all the Major Regions in the country, ranging between -4.6%, in the Northeast, to -1.3%, in the North Region. 

That was true for both heterosexual and same sex partners, except for those in the Southeast and Central West, where marriages between same-sex couples increased by 1.6% and 7.7%, respectively

Twenty of the 27 Federation Units saw a reduction of civil marriage registration between 2015 and 2016, with Piauí (-13.2%), Alagoas (-12.5%) and Paraíba (-11.3%) having recorded rates above 10.0%. Amapá stands out due to the increase of 20.0% in the number of marriages registered. 

For every one thousand residents aged 15 and over, seven had registered a civil marriage in 2016. The legal marriage rate is lowest in the Southeast Region (6.03 marriages per every one thousand residents aged 15 and over) and highest in the Southeast (8.35‰).

In civil unions between single partners of different sexes, in Brazil, the difference between the average ages on the day of marriage was about two years: men were usually 30, and women, 28. Among same-sex couples the marrying age was approximately 34 years, both for men and women.  

Divorces increase 4.7% between 2015 and 2016

In 2016, 344,526 divorces were granted in courts of first instance or as extrajudicial divorces, with an increase of 4.7% against the 2015 figure. On the average, men are older (43) that women (40) at the time of divorce. In Brazil, the average period of time that separates the date of marriage from the divorce is 15 years. 

The analysis of divorces by type of family arrangement shows that the biggest proportion of dissolutions occurred in families with minor children (47.5%) or without children (27.2%). Mothers were granted custody of the children in most cases, with only a slight change between the figures of 2015 (78.8%) and 2016 (74.4%). Shared custody increased from 12.9%, in 2015, to 16.9%, in 2016. 

Deaths increase 24.7% in ten years, mainly among older age groups 

The volume of deaths registered in Brazil in the last 10 years had an increase of 24.7%, with a change from 1,019,393 registrations in 2006 to 1,270,898 in 2016, considering registrations with information about sex and age of the deceased persons. Whereas in cities there were significant decreases, the opposite took place among persons aged over 50, as a result of population aging. 

In 1976, the deaths of persons under 1 or under 5 years of age represented 27.8% and 34.7% of the total deaths, respectively. Forty years later, the advances obtained in terms of decrease of children under 5 were significant, and these percentages now represent 2.4% and 2.9%, respectively.

On the other hand, there was significant increase of deaths of persons over 65, from 34.7%, in 1976, to 58.5%, in 2016. That trend can be seen as resulting from the overall decrease of mortality levels in the other age groups. The population, which did not usually reach older ages, due to the high mortality rates, now grows old, and that has caused the number of deaths after 65 years of age to increase in the period.

Male mortality usually surpasses female mortality throughout life, especially in the case of youngsters and young adults, because of external deaths (homicides, suicides, car accidents, drownings, accidental falls, etc.) which reach the male population more significantly. 

In 2016, a excess mortality by external deaths in the group aged 20-24 was 11.1 times, that is, a man aged 20 had 11 times more chances of not reaching age 25 than a woman. In 1976, that figure was 4.6 times, with an increase of 141.3% in the period. However, considering only deaths by natural causes in the group aged 20-24, a man aged 20 would have 2.2 times more times of not reaching 25 than a woman at the same age.

For the female population there was decline of the number of deaths by external causes, between 2006 and 2016, up to 29 years of age and in the group aged 40-44. Among men, the decrease of the number of death for those aged up to 14, and increased significantly from age 15 to 39, because of external causes. The biggest relative increases for both sexes, considering deaths by external causes, took place in the group aged 80 and over, 42.2% and 62.8% for men and women, respectively. 

In the group aged 15 to 24, some Federation Units managed to reduce significantly the number of deaths by external causes, like São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Rondônia, Federal District, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Pernambuco and Minas Gerais. On the other hand, the number of deaths increased between 2006 and 2016 for the same group. In the state of Bahia, there was increase of 171.3%. The northern and northwestern states recorded the biggest decreases.