Brazil’s 2024 Civil Registry Shows Fewer Births, More Deaths, Modest Marriage Rebound

Overview

• Registered births fell 5.8% to about 2.37 million, marking a sixth consecutive annual decline and the lowest level in the series since the 2004 methodology change.
• Deaths rose 4.6% to 1,495,386, the first annual increase since 2021, with 71.7% occurring among people 60 or older and 6.9% attributed to external causes; the District Federal posted an 11.6% rise.
• Marriages increased 0.9% to 948,925 yet remained below pre-pandemic totals, while same-sex marriages reached a series record of 12,187, up 8.8% from 2023.
• Divorces declined 2.8% nationally to 428,301, but regional contrasts persisted, including a 9.8% jump in Ceará; the average time from marriage to divorce shortened to 13.8 years.
• In judicial divorces, shared custody decisions reached 45% and surpassed exclusive maternal custody at 43% for the first time in the series.