The number of newborn babies retreated 12.8 percent over the year to 18,984 in August, marking the fastest decline in 33 months since November 2020, according to Statistics Korea.
The newborns have been on the decline for the 11th consecutive month since October 2022 as more young people delayed or gave up on having children due to economic difficulties such as high housing prices and 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 slipped 7.0 percent from a year earlier to 14,610 in August, while the number of divorces shrank 2.1 percent to 8,057. The number of deaths increased 1.7 percent to 30,540 in the cited month.
Affected by higher deaths and lower births, the country’s population has continued to fall since November 2019.
