Havana - The birth rate in Cuba declined by 8,192 births from 2015 to 2016, with a total of 116,872 cases last year, according to data from the Statistical Yearbook for Health released today by local press.

The report, dated 2016, states that the provinces with the highest number of births in the analyzed period were Havana (18,968), Santiago de Cuba (12, 433) and Holguin (10,722).

Meanwhile, the three territories with the least births resulted in the special municipality Isla de la Juventud (962), Mayabeque (3,689) and Cienfuegos (4,266).

According to Cuban specialists on the subject, for several years the number of children per woman is declining in the Caribbean nation. They also assert that this situation affects the population replacement.

In addition, they mentioned among the phenomena that hinder the increase in the birth rate in the country to the postponement of childbirth, the migration of women in full reproductive age and the need for housing of young people.