There was a 7.6 per cent rise in the number of births registered in the Republic during the first three months of 2011, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Overall, 19,950 births were officially registered in the first quarter, the highest number since records began in 1960.
Of the births recorded, 10,221 were boys and 9,729 girls.
The annual birth rate stood at 17.8 per 1,000 population at the end of the first quarter, compared to 16.6 for the same period a year earlier and 15.6 per 1,000 population in the first quarter of 2002.
Some 40.3 per cent of all births recorded in the period January to March were to first time mothers.
The average age of mothers giving birth was 31.7 years, 0.3 years more than for the same quarter last year. The average age of first-time mothers was 29.7 years.
Fingal recorded the highest birth rate of 25.3 per 1,000 population, while South Tipperary recorded the lowest birth rate of 12.6 per 1,000 population.
Of the 19,950 births registered in the first quarter, there were 6,768 births registered as outside marriage. This accounted for 34 per cent of all births.
The highest percentage of births outside marriage occurred in Limerick City at 52 per cent, while the lowest percentage was in Leitrim at 21 per cent.
The average age of mothers outside of marriage, was 28.5 years.
There were 7,651 deaths registered the first three months of 2011, an increase of 1.2 per cent compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
The death rate stood at 6.8 per 1,000 population at the end of March, the same rate as that recorded in the corresponding quarter in 2010 and down from 8.1 per 1,000 population in the first quarter of 2002.
There were 67 infant deaths registered in the first quarter giving an infant mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. Some 58 neonatal deaths were recorded
Some 6,089 deaths involving people aged 65 and were also recorded, giving an annual death rate of 47.8 per 1,000 population aged 65 and over.
Over one-third of all deaths in the quarter were attributed to circulatory disease, while 28 per cent were due to malignant neoplasms, 13 per cent to respiratory diseases and 5 per cent to external causes.
Among young adults aged between 15 and 34 years, external causes of death including accidents, suicide and other ranked first.
Overall, there were 358 deaths due to accidents, suicides and other external causes recorded during the quarter.
Ninety-five suicides were recorded while a further 263 deaths were attributed to accidents or other external causes.
The natural increase in the population (births minus deaths) for the first quarter was 12,299. This represents a rate of 11.0 per 1,000 population, 1.2 above the same three-month period in 2010 and 3.5 above the first quarter of 2002.
There were 3,052 marriages registered in the period January to March, 329 less than the same quarter a year earlier but up 568 compared to the first three months of 2002.
The estimated population in April 2010 was 4,470,700.
