SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s births hit a record low last year amid lingering worry about continued slide in the country’s population, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
The number of newborn babies retreated 7.7 percent over the year to reach a new low of 229,970 in 2023, marking the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1981, according to Statistics Korea.
The total fertility rate, or the number of children a woman is expected to bear during life, posted a new low of 0.72 last year, keeping a downward trend for the eighth consecutive year.
The newborns had been on the decline as more young people delayed or gave up on having children on the back of economic difficulties such as high housing prices and stubborn unemployment.
The low birth rate fueled worry about the demographic cliff, which refers to a sharp fall in the heads of households eventually leading to a consumption cliff.
The number of marriages added 1.0 percent over the year to 193,673 in 2023, while the number of divorces shrank 0.9 percent to 92,405.
The number of deaths decreased 5.4 percent to 352,721 last year.
Affected by higher deaths than births, the country’s population continued to fall for the fourth straight year.
