Number of Births in August Hits 'Record Low'... Deaths Increase Further, Natural Population Decline of 80,000 This Year

Statistics Korea, August Population Trends
Number of Births < Deaths... 34 Consecutive Months of Natural Population Decline

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The number of births in August recorded an all-time low. On the other hand, the number of deaths increased by double digits. As the trend of more deaths than births continues, the population has naturally decreased by nearly 80,000 people from the beginning of this year through August.

According to the 'August Population Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 26th, the number of births in August was 21,758, a 2.4% (524 people) decrease compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest number ever recorded for August. The number of births in Korea has broken the record for the lowest number for the same month for 77 consecutive months since April 2016. The decline in the number of births in August was somewhat smaller compared to June (-12.4%) and July (-8.6%).

The crude birth rate, which indicates the number of births per 1,000 people, was 5.0, also marking a record low. By region, Gyeongnam (4.2) had the lowest crude birth rate, while Sejong (7.3) had the highest.

The number of deaths in August was 30,031, a 15.8% (4,083 people) increase compared to the same month last year. This is the highest number of deaths ever recorded for August, and the increase was the largest for the same month. By region, the number of deaths increased in 16 provinces nationwide except for Daejeon. A Statistics Korea official analyzed, "The aging trend continues, and deaths due to COVID-19 had some impact."

The natural population change in August, calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births, was -8,243. This means that the domestic population, excluding external inflows, naturally decreased by more than 8,000 people as the number of deaths exceeded the number of births. As a result, the domestic population has continued to decline naturally for 34 consecutive months since November 2019.

The cumulative number of births from January to August was 170,337, a 5.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. Considering the general trend of decreasing births toward the end of the year, the annual number of births is likely to remain around 250,000. The number of births, which maintained the 400,000 range for 15 years from 2002 to 2016, dropped to the 300,000 range in 2017 and entered the 200,000 range in 2020, just three years later.

The cumulative number of deaths this year reached 249,799, a 22.3% increase. The natural population change from January to August, calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births, was a decrease of 79,461 people.

The number of marriages in August was 15,718, a 6.8% (998 cases) increase compared to the same period last year. Divorces were 8,227, a 1.8% (149 cases) decrease.

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