This file photo taken Feb. 28, 2024, shows a postnatal care center in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of babies born in South Korea set yet another fresh low for the month of March, leading to a record-low fertility rate for the first quarter, data showed Wednesday,
A total of 19,669 babies were born in March, down 7.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest figure for any March since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 1981.
The number of deaths, on the other hand, shot up 7.6 percent to 31,160, resulting in a natural population decline of 11,491. The number of deaths has outpaced that of newborns since November 2019.
For the January-March period, the country’s fertility rate, or the average number of expected births from a woman in her lifetime, came to 0.76, also falling 0.06 from a year earlier.
The quarterly tally marked the lowest recording for any January-March period since the agency started recording birth-related data.
It is far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.
The number of babies born over the first quarter came to 60,474, down 6.2 percent on-year, the data also showed.
The number of couples getting married fell 5.5 percent on-year to 17,198. Those getting divorced came to 7,450, also down 9.8 percent over the period.
South Korea is experiencing grim demographic changes, as more and more young people are opting to postpone or give up on getting married or having babies in line with changing social norms and lifestyles.
High home prices, a tough job market and an economic slowdown are also key factors in such a trend.
On the previous day, the agency said the population is anticipated to drop in nearly all regions by 2052, except for Gyeonggi Province and the central city of Sejong, due to chronically low birth rates.
The number of South Koreans aged 14 and below, which came to 5.95 million in 2022, making up 11.5 percent of the total population, is expected to plunge to 3.61 million in 2052, accounting for just 7.8 percent.
In contrast, the number of individuals aged 65 and above is projected to reach 18.86 million, or 40.8 percent, by 2052, the report said.
Last year, the number of babies born in the country dropped 7.7 percent on-year to an all-time low of 229,970.
(Yonhap)
