Latest Figures Show Increases in Births and Civil Partnerships

28 September 2006

The number of civil partnerships in Scotland in the second quarter of 2006 was more than 20 per cent higher than in the previous quarter, the Registrar General for Scotland said today.

The Registrar General, Duncan Macniven, was speaking as he published his Quarterly Return, 2nd Quarter 2006. The report provides figures for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships registered in Scotland during the period 1 April to 30 June 2006.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force in December 2005. During that month, 84 couples (53 male, 31 female) registered civil partnerships. A further 259 couples (167 male, 92 female) registered partnerships in the first quarter of 2006, rising to 315 (168 male, 147 female) in the latest quarter. This brings the total number of civil partnerships registered by the end of June 2006 to 658 (388 male and 270 female).

Other key figures from the second quarter of 2006 include:

14,033 births, an increase of 476 (3.5 per cent) compared to the same period last year.
The number of deaths (13,927) was 254 (1.9 per cent) higher than in the second quarter of 2005.
Marriages in the second quarter of 2006 (8,330) were down by 3.5 per cent on the second quarter of 2005 (8,633).

Registrar General Duncan Macniven said:

“The most interesting figures are the continued rise in the number of births – against the trend earlier in the decade – and the increase in the number of civil partnerships.

Same-sex couples have been able to register civil partnerships since December. In the first three months of 2006, 259 partnerships were registered. This rose to 315 in the latest quarter. Almost all the increase was because more female partnerships were registered – up from 92 to 147.”

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