South Korea Reports Increase in Births for 9th Month
(MENAFN) Statistics Korea reported on Wednesday that South Korea witnessed an increase in births for the ninth consecutive month, despite the country's ongoing population decline.
In March, 21,041 babies were born—marking a 6.8% rise from the same month last year. This upward trend in births has persisted since July of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the total fertility rate—representing the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime—climbed slightly by 0.04 to reach 0.77. However, this figure remains significantly lower than the replacement threshold of 2.1 required to sustain population levels.
Experts continue to express concern over the declining birth rate, attributing it largely to young adults postponing or opting out of parenthood due to economic strains, including steep housing costs and persistent job market instability.
The persistently low fertility levels are amplifying fears of a looming demographic cliff, a scenario in which a sudden drop in the number of household heads could trigger a broader decline in consumer demand.
On a more positive note, marriage registrations rose by 11.5% year-over-year in March, totaling 19,181. Divorce rates fell 3.2% to 7,210 during the same period.
However, the number of deaths slightly increased by 0.2%, reaching 31,141. With deaths continuing to outnumber births, the natural population decrease for March stood at 10,100.
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