First Quarter Birth Rate 0.90... First Ever 5 Consecutive Months of Natural Population Decline

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The total fertility rate in the first quarter of this year plummeted below 1 (0.90). This is due to the number of births dropping to the lowest ever for a first quarter, falling into the 70,000 range. The number of deaths recorded the highest in five years, causing South Korea's population to experience a natural decrease for five consecutive months for the first time in history.

According to the 'March Population Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 27th, the number of births in March was 24,378, a decrease of 2,738 (10.1%) compared to the previous year. This is the lowest number recorded for March since statistics began in 1981.

The number of births has consecutively set new record lows compared to the same month of the previous year for 48 months since April 2016. Births are influenced by seasonal factors, so comparisons are typically made month-to-month.

The number of births in the first quarter of this year was the lowest ever recorded at 74,050, down 9,179 (11.0%) from the first quarter of last year. The total fertility rate, which is the expected number of children a woman will have in her lifetime, was 0.90 in the first quarter, a decrease of 0.12 from the same period last year.

This is the first time since quarterly fertility rate statistics began in 2009 that the total fertility rate has fallen below 1 for a first quarter.

Last year's total fertility rates were 1.02 in the first quarter, 0.92 in the second quarter, 0.89 in the third quarter, and 0.85 in the fourth quarter. South Korea's total fertility rate is less than half of the 2.1 rate needed to maintain the population. South Korea is the only country among the OECD where the total fertility rate has remained in the 0 range for two consecutive years.

The number of deaths in March was 25,879, an increase of 895 (3.6%) compared to the previous year. This is the highest number of deaths in March in five years since 26,493 deaths were recorded in March 2015. In Daegu, where COVID-19 spread rapidly, the number of deaths in March reached 1,403, the highest for March since statistics began in 1993.

The number of deaths in the first quarter was 79,769, an increase of 4,494 (6.0%) compared to the same quarter last year.

The natural population increase, calculated by subtracting deaths from births in March, was -1,501 (-0.3%), marking the first negative figure for March since statistics began in 1983. This is the fifth consecutive month of negative natural increase since last November. The natural increase for the first quarter was -5,719 (-0.4%), also the first negative figure for a first quarter since statistics began.

Kim Jin, head of the Population Trends Division at Statistics Korea, said, "This is the first time the population has naturally decreased in the first quarter," adding, "The possibility of the annual population naturally decreasing for the first time this year is increasing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.