In North Rhine-Westphalia there were fewer births and fewer deaths in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. The number of births fell by 1.4 percent and the number of deaths by 3.8 percent, the State Statistics Office in Düsseldorf said. Statisticians counted 74,736 births and 111,165 deaths in the first six months of this year.
The decline in deaths was especially large in March (−12.2 percent), with 5.5 percent fewer people dying in January and April compared to the same months last year. Only in February (+1.7 percent) and June (+2.3 percent) did deaths increase.
