The number of babies born in South Korea in July hit a record low, dropping below 20,000 for the first time ever. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of babies born in South Korea in July hit a record low, dropping below 20,000 for the first time ever. This data comes from the July population trends report released by Statistics Korea on September 27.
In July, there were 19,102 live births, marking a 6.7 percent decrease (1,373 fewer births) compared to last year. This is the first time since 1981, when monthly statistics were first recorded, that July births have fallen below the 20,000 mark.
The decline in the number of births has been ongoing for over six years, starting in December 2015. There was a brief increase in September of last year with 13 more births, but the numbers have been decreasing again for the past 10 months since October.
The crude birth rate, which measures the number of live births per 1,000 people, dropped to 4.4, down 0.3 from last year, hitting its lowest level since July.
Except for Chungcheongbuk-do, the number of births decreased in all provinces.
In July, there were 28,239 deaths, marking an 8.3 percent increase (2,166 more deaths) compared to last year. This increase in deaths has been steadily rising since May (0.2 percent).
Because the number of deaths exceeded the number of births, the population naturally decreased by 9,137 in July. This marks the 45th consecutive month of natural population decline since November 2019.
In terms of marriages, there were 14,155 in July, which was 5.3 percent fewer (792 fewer marriages) compared to last year. Marriage numbers increased in four provinces or metropolitan areas, including Daegu and Ulsan, but decreased in 13, including Seoul and Busan.
The number of divorces in July was 7,500, showing a 0.5 percent decrease (34 fewer divorces) compared to last year. Divorce numbers increased in eight provinces or metropolitan areas, including Busan and Daegu, but decreased in nine areas, including Seoul and Gwangju.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
