Fewer Alaska babies were born in 2023 than in previous years, but there were also fewer deaths in the state than in prior years, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still sweeping through the nation, said a report issued by the state Department of Health.
Alaska’s population total remained almost unchanged in 2023 at 736,812, an increase of 304 from 2022, according to the Alaska Vital Statistics 2023 Annual Report. The state’s population has increased gradually over recent years, the report shows, despite more than a decade of net outmigration.
The report was released on Monday by the department’s health analytics and vital records section.
In both total numbers and in rates, births are steadily declining in Alaska, the report shows. In 2019, there were 9,832 Alaska babies born, and the fertility rate, which measures the number of births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, was 67.7. Every year since then, those numbers have trended down. In 2023, there were 9,022 babies born and the fertility rate was 61.9, the report shows.
The most popular name for newborn Alaska boys was Oliver, followed close behind by Liam. For baby girls born in Alaska in 2023, the most popular name was Charlotte, followed by Aurora, Emma and Hazel, which were tied for second place.
Alaska’s population tilts young compared to the national population, but older residents are gradually making up a larger share, the statistics show. Children under 15 make up 20% of Alaska’s population, while people 65 and older now account for 15%, up from the 2019 level of under 12%.
The state’s population also continues to be more male than female, with males comprising 52%, the 2023 report said. That is the highest male percentage of any U.S. state, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The number of deaths and the death rate in 2023, though below levels in the prior two years, was higher than in 2019, the annual report said.
Over the year, 5,533 Alaskans died, and the age-adjusted death rate was 767.4 per 100,000 people, the report said. That is well below the 6,223 deaths and age-adjusted death rate of 904.9 in 2021, the year with the heaviest toll from COVID-19. But death statistics are above those for the pre-pandemic year of 2019, in which there were 4,631 deaths and an age-adjusted death rate of 715.3, according to the report.
Cancer, heart disease and accidents were the top three causes of death in 2023, accounting for nearly half of the deaths among Alaskans last year, the report showed. Those were the top three causes of death in prior years, except for 2021.
COVID-19 dropped out of the top 10 list in 2023 after being the third-leading cause of death in 2021 and fourth-leading cause in 2020 and 2022. The disease had not disappeared from Alaska in 2023, however. COVID-19 was the underlying cause of 56 deaths over the year, the report said.
• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. She covers environmental issues, energy, climate change, natural resources, economic and business news, health, science and Arctic concerns. This article originally appeared online at alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon, an affiliate of States Newsroom, is an independent, nonpartisan news organization focused on connecting Alaskans to their state government.
