566 Deaths, 540 Births, 248 Marriages In 2020
In 2020, 566 deaths were recorded among residents, there were 540 births, and there were 248 marriages performed in Bermuda, a 35.8% decrease from 2019, with the decrease attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was from Minister of Home Affairs Walter Roban as he laid the Annual Report of the Registry General for the year ended December 31st, 2020 in the House of Assembly today [June 18].
“The Annual Report seeks to provide an illustrative statistical digest of vital events such as live births, deaths, stillbirths, marriages, domestic partnerships, adoptions and re-registration of births for the year ended December 31st, 2020,” the Minister said.
“In 2020 there were 540 births; an increase of 15 or 2.9% over the 525 births recorded in 2019. Also, the live birth rate of the population has increased by 0.3 point per thousand from 8.2 in 2019 to 8.5 in 2020.
“In 2020, 566 deaths were recorded among residents. A death rate of 8.9 per thousand of the population for 2020 reflects an increase of 31 or 5.8% from 535 recorded in 2019.
“There was a decrease of 26 in the estimated resident population at the end of 2020 at 63,880 as opposed to the 63,906 in resident population estimated in 2019. At the end of 2020 there were 2,492 more females than males in the population figures.
“For the year ending 31st December 2020 there were 248 marriages performed in Bermuda, a 138 or 35.8% decrease from the 386 marriages recorded in 2019. During 2020 marriages between parties who were both non-residents accounted for 48 or 19.4% of the total of 248.
“The decrease was due to the Covid-19 pandemic were the island had been on lockdown for a period and international travel activity had slowed down globally.
“Of the total 248 marriages recorded in 2020, ten [10] were same-sex marriages which represents an increase of six [6] or 150% from the total of six same- sex marriages in 2019. ”
The Minister’s full statement follows below:
Mr. Speaker, today I laid, for information, the Annual Report of the Registry General for the year ended December 31st, 2020. The Registrar General recognizes the essential role that vital statistical information plays in planning for the provision of services in areas such as tourism, health, education and housing, to name a few, and has performed his duties to a high standard in the recording, collating and presenting of the data to be included in the Annual Report.
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Section 19 of the Registration [Births and Deaths] Act 1949, the Registrar-General shall, within ninety days after the expiration of each calendar year, compile for publication in such form and manner as the Minister may approve a summary of the births and deaths which occurred during the year, together with a general report on the increase or decrease of the population of Bermuda. The Registrar is required also under section 35 of the Marriage Act 1944 to publish a summary of marriages conducted each year.
In preparation of the Annual Report, Mr. Speaker, the Registrar has relied on information received from the Records Office of the King Edward VII Hospital relating to births; from the local funeral directors and medical practitioners in relations to deaths; and from local marriage officers and Masters of Bermuda registered ships in relation to local and maritime marriages respectively.
Mr. Speaker, the Report which deals primarily with the vital statistics pertaining to the Island’s residential population indicates that there has been an slight increase, for first time in four [4] years, in the number of births. In 2020 there were 540 births; an increase of 15 or 2.9% over the 525 births recorded in 2019. Also, the live birth rate of the population has increased by 0.3 point per thousand from 8.2 in 2019 to 8.5 in 2020. There was one baby born at the residence of the parents for the year ending 2020. This represents a decrease of one from number of babies born at home 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the distribution of live births by nationality based on information provided by the parents at the time of registration of their children’s birth, for 2020 reflects 80% or 432 of the total live births have at least one Bermudian parent. In 2020, 108 or 20% of the births have parents who are both non-Bermudian.
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members are advised that in 2020, 566 deaths were recorded among residents. A death rate of 8.9 per thousand of the population for 2020 reflects an increase of 31 or 5.8% from 535 recorded in 2019. The Report also indicates that there were six [6] deaths in respect of non-resident persons. Also, there were no stillbirths recorded for the 2019 period.
Mr. Speaker, there was a decrease of 26 in the estimated resident population at the end of 2020 at 63,880 as opposed to the 63,906 in resident population estimated in 2019. At the end of 2020 there were 2,492 more females than males in the population figures.
However, Mr. Speaker, from the report given and statistics recorded in 2016, and statistics provided for 2020, it would appear that there has been a significant drop in the population from statistics recorded prior to the year 2016. However, the population estimates were re-based in 2016 after the 2016 Population and Housing Census. The re-base of the data is the reason why the population estimates are lower from 2016 forward.
Mr. Speaker, for the year ending 31st December 2020 there were 248 marriages performed in Bermuda, a 138 or 35.8% decrease from the 386 marriages recorded in 2019. During 2020 marriages between parties who were both non-residents accounted for 48 or 19.4% of the total of 248. This figure breaks the trend set over the past five years were marriages between non-residents to exceed the number of marriages between residents and marriages between residents and non-residents parties. The decrease was due to the Covid-19 pandemic were the island had been on lockdown for a period and international travel activity had slowed down globally. The Report also shows that there were 172 marriages between parties who were both residents and 28 marriages between a resident and non-resident.
Mr. Speaker, of the total 248 marriages recorded in 2020, ten [10] were same-sex marriages which represents an increase of six [6] or 150% from the total of six same- sex marriages in 2019. Nine [9] of the same-sex marriages were performed by the Registry General Office as civil ceremonies, and the remaining same-sex marriage was religious ceremony conducted by a local marriage officer at an outside venue. During 2020 same-sex marriages between parties who were both residents accounted for three or 30% of the total of four marriages. The report also shows that same-sex marriages between non-residents accounted for six or 60%, and one or 10% accounted for the number of same-sex marriages between a resident and non- resident.
Mr. Speaker, 70 marriages were performed on board twenty-eight Bermuda registered ships in 2019. This total represents a decrease of 372 or 84.2% from the 2019 total of 442. Of the 70 maritime marriages, none were same-sex marriage ceremonies. The decrease is due to the Covid-19 pandemic that brought the cruise line industry to a halt in March 2020. There were no maritime marriages registered between April and December 2020. The cumulative number of marriages [local and maritime] processed through the Registry General for the year ended 31st December, 2020 was 318 as compared to 828 for the year ending 2019.
Mr. Speaker, the Domestic Partnership Act 2018 allowed for the formalization of unions between parties. In 2020 there were eight [8] domestic partnership unions recorded for that period. Five of the domestic partnership ceremonies were performed at the Registry General Office and the remaining three ceremonies were performed at an alternative approved location as allowed for under the Domestic Partnership Act 2018.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, the Annual Report seeks to provide an illustrative statistical digest of vital events such as live births, deaths, stillbirths, marriages, domestic partnerships, adoptions and re-registration of births for the year ended December 31st, 2020.
The full Registry General Annual Report follows below [PDF here]:
