Fewer Alaska babies were born in 2023 than in previous years, but the state also had fewer deaths than in previous years when the COVID-19 pandemic was still raging across the country, according to a report released by the state Department of Health.

Alaska’s total population remains virtually unchanged at 736,812 in 2023; This figure increased by 304 people compared to 2022. Alaska Vital Statistics 2023 Annual Report. The report shows that despite more than a decade of population growth, the state’s population has gradually increased in recent years. net migration.

The report was released Monday by the department’s health analytics and vital records division.

The report shows that births in Alaska have been steadily declining in both total number and rate. 9,832 Alaska babies were born in 2019, and the fertility rate, which measures the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, was 67.7. Each year since then, these figures have trended downward. The report shows that 9,022 babies were born in 2023 and the fertility rate is 61.9.

The most popular name for newborn boys in Alaska was Oliver, followed closely by Liam. The most popular name for baby girls born in 2023 in Alaska was Charlotte, followed by Aurora, Emma and Hazel, which shared second place.

population of Alaska, national populationbut statistics show that older residents make up an increasingly larger share. While children under 15 make up 20% of Alaska’s population, people 65 and older now make up 15%; this rate was below 12% in 2019.

According to the 2023 report, the state’s population consists of more men than women, with men accounting for 52%. This highest percentage of men of any U.S. state, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The annual report stated that the number of deaths and mortality rate in 2023 were higher than in 2019, although they were below the levels in the previous two years.

The report said 5,533 Alaskans died during the year, with an age-adjusted death rate of 767.4 per 100,000 people. This is well below 2021’s 6,223 deaths and an age-adjusted death rate of 904.9. However, according to the report, death statistics are above the figures for the pre-pandemic year 2019, when there were 4,631 deaths and the age-adjusted death rate was 715.3.

The report showed that cancer, heart disease and accidents were the top three causes of death in 2023, accounting for nearly half of deaths in Alaska last year. These were the top three causes of death in previous years, except 2021.

COVID-19 dropped out of the top 10 list in 2023 after becoming the third cause of death in 2021 and the fourth cause of death in 2020 and 2022. But the disease had not disappeared in Alaska by 2023. The report stated that the main cause of 56 deaths during the year was Covid-19.