In ten years, the percentage of under-registration of births¹ decreased from 27.1%in 1998 to 8.9% in 2008: in each 100 births around 27 children were not registered in 1998; in 2008, approximately 9. The increased number of children with birth certificate was due to several factors, such as the enactment of the law of free vital records, in 1998, awareness campaigns, and the requirement of a birth certificate to obtain social benefits. Even so, 248 thousand children are estimated not to have been registered in 2008. The under-registration of deaths, although it has decreased from 17.7% to 11%, in 1998-2008, is another problem of vital statistics in the country, because a non-registered death in the year is rarely registered in subsequent years. In the Northeast, death under-registration was 27.4% in 2008. As to violent deaths², the states with the highest proportions were Amapá (23.7%), in the case of men, and Rondônia (8.4%), in the case of women. The total registered marriages in Brazil increased by 4.5% between 2007 and 2008, and the number of formal marriages increased among the older age groups in the last 10 years. In 2008, the number of marriage breakdowns reached 290,903, adding the 102.813 separations and the 188.090 divorces. Another observed trend was the increasing number of remarriages, which changed from 10.3%, in 1998, to 17.1%, in 2008, of the total formal marriages. Rio de Janeiro led the percentage of remarriages, in 2008, with 22.7%. These and other information form the Civil Registry Statistics, which reflect the total registers of births, deaths, marriages, separations, and divorces reported by family courts or civil courts.

 

In 2008, in each 100 births 9 children were not registered

 

Civil Registry Statistics showed a reduction of birth under-registration in 1998-2008. In 2008, in each 100 births, around nine children were not registered, in comparison to 1998, when in each 100 births, approximately 27 did not have a birth certificate in the year of birth. The growth in the percentage of certificates happened after the enaction, in December 1997, of the law of free vital records, and the implementation of several legal measures and actions by the Ministry of Health, Special Office for Human Rights, Associations of Registrators of Natural Persons, and State Justice Internal Affairs.

 

In 2008, 3,085,452 birth certificates were issued. Among those births, 2,789,820 happened in that year, and 295,632 were out-of-time registrations¹. Around 248 thousand children are estimated not to have been registered in 2008, what corresponds to 8.9% of the births in that year. Besides, there were 879 birth registries whose mothers lived abroad.

 

Out-of-time registrations represented 9.6% of total. São Paulo (1.8%), Paraná (2.3%) and Santa Catarina (2.4%) were the Federation Units with the lowest proportions. The highest percentages were observed in Amazonas (36.5%), Pará (32.6%) and Maranhão (26.3%). In 1998, the percentage of out-of-time registrations was 35.3%. In 2008, 81.2% of out-of-time registrations were from persons up to 12 years old. In absolute numbers, the country reduced out-of-time registrations from 1,486,147 in 1998 to 295,632 in 2008.

 

Maranhão, Pará and Tocantins presented the highest percentages of teenage and young mothers

 

Fecundity reduction, occurred in the last decades, affected women of all ages, being more intense in those of the age group between 30 and 49 years, except for the group of teenage and young mothers under 20, which presented growth until 2000. Between 19989 and 2008, birth certificates among mothers under 20 decreased from 21.3% to 19.4%.

 

In 2008, the highest percentages of births from mothers under 20 were observed in Maranhão (26.2%), Pará (26.0%) and Tocantins (25.2%), whereas the lowest rates were observed in the Federal District (14.0%) and São Paulo (15.6%). In those states, the proportions of birth certificates from mothers aged between 30 and 34 were larger than those of the group under 20.

 

In the period 1998-2008, the percentage of births from mothers aged between 20 and 24 also presented reduction (30.5% to 28.5%). The proportion of certificates from mothers aged 25 to 29 increased (from 23.7% to 25.2%), as well as for those between 30 and 34 (14.8% to 16.3%) and 35 and 39 (6.6% to 7.8%). The proportion of births from mothers older than 45 remained stable (0.2%).

 

 

Total of registered marriages in Brazil increase by 4.5% between 2007 and 2008

 

In 2008, the total of marriages registered in Brazil was 959,901. Among those, 936,538 were of individuals aged 15 and over, occurred and registered in the reference year of the survey⁴, 4.5% superior to the observed in 2007. Comparing 1998 and 2008, the number of marriages of persons over 15 registered in the country grew by 34.8%, surpassing the rate of natural increase in this age group, which was 21.4%.

 

Total marriages in Brazil are increasing, in absolute and relative terms, in the last 10 years, especially between 2003 and 2008, whose increase may be observed in the legal nuptiality rate⁵, which changed from 5.8% to 6.7%. The increase of marriages is related to the better access to legal services, to the search by couples to formalize common-law marriages and to the supply of collective marriages.

 

Acre has the highest nuptiality rate (12%), and Rio Grande do Sul, the lowest (4.5%), in 2008

 

In 2008, the highest nuptiality rates were recorded in Acre (12%) and Espírito Santo (9.6%), and the lowest were observed in Pará (4.4%) and Rio Grande do Sul (4.5%). As opposed to the national total, there were reductions in nuptiality rates in Rio Grande do Sul (from 4.9% to 4.5%), Mato Grosso (from 5.7% to 5.5%), Minas Gerais (from 7.5% to 7.0%), Sergipe (from 5.4% to 5.1%) and Piauí (from 5.1% to 4.8%), in comparison with 1998.

 

Men and women are getting married later

 

In 2008, for the whole country, the lowest nuptiality rate among women continued in the age group between 20 and 24 (29.7%), which in 1998 reached 31.6%. The nuptiality rate of younger women, aged 15 to 19 (16.3%), in 2008, was significantly inferior to that observed in 1998 (22.6%). Yet, the rate increased continuously among women aged 25 to 29, in this period, changing from 19.4% to 28.4%.

 

Legal nuptiality rates of women are higher just in the two younger age groups (15 to 19 and 20 to 24); in the others, the rates observed in men were systematically higher. Men had a higher nuptiality rate in the group aged between 25 and 29 (32.7%), being this figure higher than that observed in 1998 (29.3%). At 60 years old, rates obtained for male persons are more than twice those for women. For all male groups from 25 years old, nuptiality rates increased over time.

 

Marriages in which at least one spouse is divorced or widowed represent 17.1% of total

 

Statistics also show a growth in the number of remarriages⁶. Marriages among single persons remain the majority, but with a steady proportional decrease, although absolute totals have also presented growth. Remarriages of individuals aged 15 and over, occurred and registered in 2008 represented 17.1% of all formalized unions of that year. In 1998, remarriages of persons of the same age group were 10.3%.

 

Marriages of divorced men and single women changed from 4.6% to 7.4% between 1998 and 2008, whereas that of divorced women with single men changed from 2.1% to 4.1%. The increase in marriages of divorced spouses changed from 1.1% in 1998 to 2.7% in 2008.

 

Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia and São Paulo have the largest proportions of marriages among divorced

 

Among federation units in 2008, Rio de Janeiro is the state with the smallest proportion of marriages among single persons (77.3%). The highest percentage was obtained in Piauí (92.9%). Marriages among divorced persons reached the largest proportions in Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia and São Paulo, with 3.8%.

 

Formal unions of divorced women and single men were more frequent in Rio de Janeiro and Goiás, 5.4% of total marriages, in both places, in 2008. The opposite, divorced men and single women, was superior to the previous composition in all federation units, with the Federal District (10.1%) and Rio de Janeiro (9.4%) presenting the highest percentages.

 

In 2008, single men who married single women were 29 years old on average; women were 26. – two years older in the case of men and three, in the case of women. Acre and Amapá presented a higher average age for men. In the first case, the situation of 1998 was repeated. Among women, in 2008, the highest average age was observed in Acre: 29. The youngest persons to get married in 2008 were the single men of Paraná and the single women of Rondônia.

Under-registration of deaths remains a challenge

 

The reduction of death under-registration in Brazil is the biggest challenge to qualify vital statistics in the country. As opposed to births, in which a late registration is possible, the situations when a death not registered in the year is computed in later years are rare. Comparing the numbers registered at notary’s offices during 2008 with the estimates of IBGE, a fall in under-registration between 1998 (17.7%) and 2008 (11%) was observed. In 2008, in the North and Northeast regions, figures were 26.1% and 27.4%. The Southeast and South regions have nearly complete coverage; the Central West, 91.4%.

 

Type of neonatal death shows a structural change

 

Most omissions of death registrations are attributed to the under-registration of infant deaths (under 1 year old). In spite of under-registration, the collected information allowed an analysis of infant deaths according to its components: early neonatal (deaths of children aged 0 to 6 days), late neonatal (deaths of children aged 7 to 27 days) and post-neonatal (deaths of children aged 28 to 364 days). Up to the end of the 1980’s, the post-neonatal group prevailed. Since then, the weight of neonatal component (early and late) began to prevail, reaching 67.2% of total deaths in persons under 1 year in 2008.

 

With progresses in structural questions related to sanitation and access to health, the component early neonatal bears even wider relevance. In 2008, 50.9% of registered infant deaths had this profile. In more socially and economically developed countries, consequently with more even access to health services, infant mortality concentrates 90% of its events in the age group between 0 and 6 days. Among Major Regions, the North (35.41%) and the Northeast (34.78%) keep the highest percentages of post-neonatal mortality.

 

Men aged between 15 and 24 are the primary victims of violent deaths

 

The index of violent deaths (homicides, suicides and traffic accidents) reached, in 2008, 14.7% of the registers in the case of men and 3.81% in the case of women. The largest proportions were observed in the North, respectively 18.3% and 5.65% for men and women. The states with the largest proportions of violent deaths in 2008, by sex, were Amapá (23.7%) in the case of men and Rondônia (8.4%) in the case of women.

 

In Pernambuco, Alagoas and Rio de Janeiro, men presented higher mortality than in the other states (5.8 violent deaths of men per each death of women, 5.7 and 5.5, respectively). The most common victims of registered violent deaths continue to be young males aged 15 to 24, 67.5% in 2008. The largest proportion was observed in the Southeast Region (74%). In Espírito Santo it reaches 78.6%.

In 2008, 14.5% of dissolutions were obtained at notary’s offices

In 2008, the number of marriage dissolutions was 290,903, adding the 102,813 separations and the 188,090 divorces – both figures comprising judicial processes and decrees. In 2008, 42,346 (14.5%) of dissolutions were obtained in notary’s offices: 14,623 in the case of separations and 37,703 in the case of divorce. In relation to 2007, there was growth of 24.9% of separation decrees and 33.9% of divorce decrees, settled at notary’s offices. In 2007, separations settled at notary’s offices were 11,710, and divorces, 28,164.

 

Judicial separation by mutual consent of spouses may only happen if they were married for more than two years and does not permit a new civil or religious marriage and other clauses according to the law in each country. Divorce permits a new marriage, and may be direct (due to a de facto separation for more than two years) or indirect (due to a conversion of judicial separation after one year of concession).

 

Overall rate of divorces increases more than the rate of separations

 

The overall rate of separations became different from the overall rate of divorces⁷, measured for the population aged 20 and over in 2008. While the separation rate was stable in relation to 2004, 0.8%, the divorce rate increased, reaching 1.5%, the highest in the analyzed period.

The increased number of divorces in relation to the number of separations between 1998 and 2008 is explained by the better acceptance of divorce in Brazil and the greater access to legal services, besides the possibility of settling divorces at notary’s offices, what makes this event simpler for cases anticipated by law.

 

In 2008, direct divorces, those that did not go through a previous judicial separation, represented 70.1% of the total registered in the country. The indirect divorces represented 29.8%, and 0.1% did not have a declared type. In Amazonas almost all divorces informed to IBGE belonged to the direct type.

 

Pernambuco has the largest proportion of non-consensual separations in the country

 

In relation to the nature of separations in Brazil, in 2008, most of them were consensual (76.2%). The largest proportion of consensual cases was observed in Mato Grosso do Sul: 87.5%. The federation units that had larger proportions of non-consensual separations were Pernambuco (48.8%) and Alagoas (46.7%).

 

However, for the country as a whole, a decrease in consensual separations was observed, comparing 1998 and 2008, reaching a difference of 4.9 percentage points. This reduction occurred due to the each time more frequent option for direct judicial divorce or its settlement at a notary’s office, what avoids a bureaucratic judicial step. Consequently, non-consensual judicial separations had an increase.

 

71.7% of non-consensual separations are asked by women

 

Judicial non-consensual separations were, in most of the cases, asked by women. In 2008, for Brazil, the rate was 71.7%. In all Brazilian states the highest percentage was of separations applied by women. However, there were differences, such as in Paraíba, where 41.4% of judicial separations were asked by men.

 

In cases of divorce, hegemony of child custody belonged to women. In 2008, 88.7% of given divorces in Brazil had the responsibility of guarding the children given to women. This high percentage of responsibility for guarding minor children is one of the factors that explain the highest number of divorced men that remarry single women.

 

 

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¹ Under-registration of birth is the set of births occurred in the reference year of the survey at the Civil Registry and not registered in the same year or up to the end of the first quarter of the following year.

 

² Violent deaths are those related principally to homicides, suicides car accidents (grouped).

 

³ Related to people who were born in the previous years.

 

⁴ For all calculated indicators we considered this age group. The other marriages involved at least one spouse under 15, or were held in previous years.

 

 

⁵ This rate is obtained from the division of the number of marriages by the number of inhabitants and the multiplication of the result obtained by one thousand

 

⁶ Remarriages are considered those events in which at least one of the spouses had the marital status married or widowed.

 

⁷ The overall separation rate results from the division of the number of separations granted by the population and the multiplication of the result obtained by 1,000. The same procedure was used for the calculation of the overall divorce rate. In this work were considered separations and divorces granted without an appeal or conducted at notary’s offices among the population aged 20 years or over on the opening date of the process and the population of the same age group.