출생아, 작년 10명이라면 올핸 9명…코로나 여파에 결혼도 '뚝'

South Korea continues to see a decline in population,... due to the number of deaths outweighing the number of births.
And the number of marriages saw the steepest on-year fall for the month of April,... amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Our Kim Jae-hee reports.
South Korea reported more deaths than births for the sixth consecutive month in April.
Monthly data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday showed... 23-thousand-420 infants were born in April,... while 24-thousand-628 people died.
The number of births in April dropped 10-point-4 percent from the same month last year.
This means for every ten infants born last April, only nine were born this April.
The number of births has now been falling on-year for 53 months in a row.
But deaths are on an upward trend due to the aging population,... the number of deaths was up 3-point-3 percent on-year in April.
Meanwhile, the number of marriages was down 21-point-8 percent on-year,... to 15-thousand-670.
This is the steepest on-year decline for the month of April,... since related data was first compiled in 1981.
Statistic Korea said the COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated the general trend of fewer marriages.
"There were two more days that people could register their marriage in April last year than there were this year.
Also, marriage registrations or marriages have been postponed amid the COVID-19 outbreak,... adding to the general trend of declining marriages."
The number of divorces also fell 2-point-9 percent on-year in April to 9-thousand-259.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.