The population growth rate stood at 1.3 per 1,000 inhabitants, and was positive for the seventh consecutive year: there were 2,681 more births than deaths, according to date from the Statistics Office.

The office added that the figures continued to point to a trend of delayed motherhood and marriage as well as a general drop in family size.

An increasing number of women become mothers in their thirties: as many as 54% of those who gave birth last year were aged 30 or older.

The share was 17% in 1982. On average, first time mothers were by 5 years older last year than in the 1980s.

The average age of first time mothers last year was 28.9 years.

On the other hand, the number of teenage girls and women having children in their early twenties is decreasing.

Last year, the average age of mothers at birth of their children was the highest after World War II.

In addition, more than half of all children were born to unmarried mothers for the sixth consecutive year.

The data concerning death rate show that 19,257 people died in Slovenia in 2012, or 558 more than in 2011.

The infant mortality rate fell to 1.6 per 1,000 newborns, meaning that among all live-born babies, one in every 609 children died before the age of 1.

With this Slovenia ranks as one of the countries with the lowest infant mortality rate in the EU.

In 2011, the countries with better results were Sweden, Finland, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

In 1953, one in every 33 children in Slovenia died before their first birthday.