The Sudden Stop of Baby Cries... 15.3% Decrease in Births, 'All-Time Low'

Record Low Marriages in November Last Year
Deaths Exceed Births by Over 5,000
Last Year's Births in 200,000s and First Confirmed Population Decline

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The sound of babies crying is fading, marriages are decreasing, and deaths are increasing. In November of last year, the number of births and marriages fell to historic lows. The rate of decline was also the highest since 2001. The annual number of births is expected to fall into the 200,000 range for the first time.

According to the "November Population Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 27th, the number of births in November last year was 20,085, a 15.3% (3,642) decrease compared to the same month in 2019. This is the lowest figure since related statistics began in 1981 for the month of November.

The rate of decline in November last year was also the highest in 19 years since November 2001, when it was -18.4%. The year-on-year monthly decline in births has continued for 60 months since December 2015.

Kim Sooyoung, head of the Population Trends Division at Statistics Korea, explained, "The population of women in their 30s, the prime childbearing age, is decreasing, and the age of marriage is rising, which leads to a higher age for first childbirth, resulting in a decrease in the number of births."

The cumulative number of births from January to November last year was 253,787. Unless the number of births in December exceeds 46,213, the annual number of births is expected to fall below 300,000. According to Statistics Korea, births tend to be concentrated at the beginning of the year and decrease toward the end of the year.

The annual number of births fell from the 400,000 range between 2002 and 2016 to the 300,000 range in 2017. Last year, it was on the verge of entering the 200,000 range. In other words, it took 15 years for the number of births to drop from the 400,000 range to the 300,000 range, but only 3 years to drop from the 300,000 range to the 200,000 range.

Consequently, population decline is also becoming more pronounced. The number of deaths in November last year was 25,669, a 1% increase compared to the same month the previous year. The natural population decrease, calculated by subtracting the number of births from the number of deaths, was 5,583. This was the largest monthly decrease last year.

Natural population decline has continued for 13 consecutive months since November last year. The cumulative natural population decrease from January to November was 24,399. Although the natural population decrease remained between 1,000 and 2,000 per month throughout last year, it surged to 4,575 in October and exceeded 5,000 in November.

Because of this, the first-ever annual natural population decrease is expected to be confirmed last year.

The number of marriages also plummeted. The number of marriages in November was 18,177, an 11.3% (2,311) decrease compared to the same month last year. The number of divorces in November was 8,876, a 3.5% (323) decrease compared to the same month last year.

Kim said, "As the population ages and the proportion of those aged 65 and over increases, the number of deaths is rising. Since this trend is expected to continue, the speed of natural population decline may accelerate."

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