Number of births in S.Korea hits all-time low
- 5 years ago
10월 출생아 역대 최저…저출산 고착화 현상 심화
South Korea has long been troubled by falling birth rate.
The numbers hit an all time low in October.
There's been a series of measures implemented to solve the problem, but they clearly they weren't very effective.
For details let's turn to our Seo Eun-kyung.
It seems that measures to reverse South Korea's low birth rate are having little impact.
According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of births in October this year stood at 26-thousand-5-hundred, down 5-percent compared to last year.
It's the eighth month this year that the number of births has been under 30-thousand, with only January and March seeing more than 30-thousand newborns.
Birth figures are often compared to the same month in previous years to account for seasonal variations, and for the last 31 months in a row, there have been fewer births in Korea than in the same month the previous year.
If there are no major changes in the trend, the government predicts that only 330-thousand babies will be born this year.
The number of births fell below 400-thousand last year... for the first time since the figure was first recorded in 1981.
Statistics Korea says the falling number of births can be largely attributed to the steadily falling marriage rate.
In fact, according to a national survey in November, the percentage of Koreans who think people should get married has dropped below 50 percent for the first time.
The marriage rate has been showing a steady decline since 1990, and the number of marriages in 2017 was the lowest ever in Korea.
Seo Eun-kyung, Arirang News.
South Korea has long been troubled by falling birth rate.
The numbers hit an all time low in October.
There's been a series of measures implemented to solve the problem, but they clearly they weren't very effective.
For details let's turn to our Seo Eun-kyung.
It seems that measures to reverse South Korea's low birth rate are having little impact.
According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of births in October this year stood at 26-thousand-5-hundred, down 5-percent compared to last year.
It's the eighth month this year that the number of births has been under 30-thousand, with only January and March seeing more than 30-thousand newborns.
Birth figures are often compared to the same month in previous years to account for seasonal variations, and for the last 31 months in a row, there have been fewer births in Korea than in the same month the previous year.
If there are no major changes in the trend, the government predicts that only 330-thousand babies will be born this year.
The number of births fell below 400-thousand last year... for the first time since the figure was first recorded in 1981.
Statistics Korea says the falling number of births can be largely attributed to the steadily falling marriage rate.
In fact, according to a national survey in November, the percentage of Koreans who think people should get married has dropped below 50 percent for the first time.
The marriage rate has been showing a steady decline since 1990, and the number of marriages in 2017 was the lowest ever in Korea.
Seo Eun-kyung, Arirang News.