Number of Births in March Hits Record Low at 21,100... Population Declines for 41 Consecutive Months

The number of births in March this year hit a record low for the month. Although the number of deaths decreased by more than 30%, natural population decline continued for the 41st consecutive month.

According to population trends announced by Statistics Korea on the 25th, the number of births in March this year was 21,138, down 1,864 (-8.1%) from the same period last year. This is the lowest number recorded for March since monthly statistics began in 1981. The monthly number of births has been declining for 88 consecutive months since December 2015. The lowest monthly figure was recorded in December last year at 16,803.

By region, except for three provinces?Daejeon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam?the number of births decreased compared to a year ago in 14 provinces including Seoul and Busan. The crude birth rate, which indicates the number of births per 1,000 people, was 4.9. Sejong had the highest crude birth rate at 7.8, while Jeonbuk had the lowest at 3.9.

The number of births in the first quarter was 64,256, a decrease of 4,116 (-6.0%) compared to the same period last year. The total fertility rate was 0.81, down 0.06 from a year earlier. The composition ratio of births by birth order showed a 2.1 percentage point increase in first-borns compared to the same period last year, while second-borns and third-borns or higher decreased by 1.7 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, respectively.

▲ Application for Aisarang Card. (Source: Screenshot from online community)

On the other hand, the number of deaths in March was 28,922, down 15,689 (-35.2%) from the same month last year. This is interpreted as a significant decrease in deaths due to the reduced impact of COVID-19. The number of deaths decreased in all provinces compared to the same month last year. The number of deaths in the first quarter was 89,015, down 14,738 (-14.2%) from the same period last year.

Although the number of deaths significantly decreased, it still exceeded the number of births, resulting in a natural population decline of 7,784. Due to low birth rates and aging, the population has been naturally declining for 41 consecutive months since November 2019. By region, except for Sejong and Gyeonggi, the remaining 15 provinces experienced natural population decline. The population naturally decreased by 24,760 in the first quarter.

The number of marriages in March was 18,192, an increase of 2,876 (18.8%) compared to a year ago. This is interpreted as a base effect from the sharp decline in marriage registrations during the COVID-19 period. The number of marriages increased in all provinces compared to the same month last year. During the same period, divorces numbered 8,255, up 373 (4.7%) from a year earlier. For the first quarter, marriages increased by 18.9% to 53,964, and divorces increased by 1.6% to 22,734.

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