South Korea records low childbirth
The number of babies born in South Korea reached a new low in November, according to data released on Thursday, reflecting the country's dire population crisis.
According to Statistics Korea, a total of 18,982 babies were born in November, a drop of 4.3% from the previous year.
According to the data, this was the lowest number for any November since the statistics agency began compiling similar data in 1981.
South Korea continues to experience a chronic decline in childbirths as many young people postpone or abandon having children in the face of an economic slowdown and high home prices.
However, between January and November, a total of 231,863 babies were born, a 4.7% decrease from the previous year.
According to the data, its total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, was 0.79 in the third quarter.
In 2021, it was 0.81, the fourth year in a row that it was less than one. It was significantly lower than the replacement level of 2.1 required to maintain South Korea's population at 51.5 million.
South Korea, which reported more deaths than births for the first time in 2020, is widely expected to continue the trend for the third year in a row in 2022.
South Korea lost 107,004 people between January and November.
In November, there were 30,107 deaths, a 6.1% increase from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the number of marriages increased by 2.2 percent year on year to 17,458 in November, as more people married following the relaxation of COVID-19 regulations.
Divorces fell 3.1% year on year to 8,498 last month.
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