Thirty-five percent of Bermuda's babies were born out of wedlock according to the latest Government statistics which also show a 5.5 percent decline in marriages.

The 2005 Registrar General report shows that there were 292 babies born to unmarried parents, although 18 were subsequently registered as if born in wedlock after the marriage of their parents.

St. George's parish and Pembroke parish produced the largest number of unmarried parents while Paget and Smith's produced the least.

The number of marriages fell to 820, down from 868 in 2004, although the figures also include the marriages of foreign honeymooners and could be affected by the ups and downs of tourism.

Most nuptials are religious with only 15.7 being civil ceremonies. The Anglicans got the largest slice of the wedding action with 36 percent of the total.

However most marriages were not done in a church or at the Registry General's office – 323 took place in hotels, restaurants or clubs while another 182 were performed in homes, gardens, beaches or boats.

Women aged 30-34 are the most prolific at producing babies with 31.6 percent of the total, while those aged 25-29 produced 22 percent. The total birth rate remains virtually unchanged at 835.

Pembroke and Warwick parish were the most fertile – producing more than a third of the babies between them.

There were just two babies born to mothers under 16 in 2005 – three less than a year previously.

The report also shows that females outnumber males by 2,305 as the population grew to 64,353 – up by nearly 400 from 2004.

The average yearly increase since the 2000 census is 405 people.

The stats show that Bermuda's death rate rose slightly, with 39 more males dying than females – a reversal of the trend for the previous three years.

Women live longer – the average age of death being 76.6 for females and 69.4 for males.