Total Fertility Rate of 0.65 in Q4 Last Year... First Time Below 0.7

Natural Decrease Exceeds 40,000 per Quarter for the First Time in Q4

The total fertility rate in the fourth quarter of last year recorded 0.65, marking the first time it fell into the 0.6 range. The natural decrease per quarter also exceeded 40,000 for the first time.

According to the 'December 2023 Population Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 28th, the number of births in December last year was 16,253, a 3.8% decrease compared to the same month of the previous year.

The number of births in the fourth quarter of last year was 52,618, down 6.9% from the same period the previous year. The total fertility rate, which is the expected number of children a woman of childbearing age will have in her lifetime, was 0.65, a decrease of 0.05 from the same period last year.

This is the first time the total fertility rate has dropped to the 0.6 range on a quarterly basis.

Looking at the fertility rate by mother's age, compared to the same period last year, it decreased by 1.6 for ages 25-29 and by 5.9 for ages 30-34.

The proportion of second and third births also declined. The composition ratio of births by birth order showed that the proportion of first-borns increased by 1.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year, while second-borns and third-borns or higher decreased by 1.0 percentage point and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.

As the number of births decreased and the number of deaths increased due to aging, the natural decrease exceeded 40,000 per quarter for the first time in history. The number of deaths in December last year was 32,341, a 3.2% decrease compared to the same month the previous year, and the number of deaths in the fourth quarter was 93,543, a 0.2% increase compared to the same period last year. The natural increase, which is the number of births minus the number of deaths, showed a natural decrease of 16,088 in December last year and a natural decrease of 40,925 in the fourth quarter.

The number of marriages also sharply decreased. The number of marriages in December last year was 17,582, down 11.6% compared to the same month the previous year. The number of marriages in the fourth quarter last year was 50,263, a 5.5% decrease compared to the same period last year.

The marriage rate by age decreased in all age groups except for women in their late 30s compared to the same period last year.

As marriages declined, divorces also showed a decreasing trend. The number of divorces in December last year was 7,299, a 6.7% decrease compared to the same month the previous year. The number of divorces in the fourth quarter last year was 23,138, a 2.7% decrease compared to the same period last year.

The number of divorces by duration of marriage decreased by 10.5% for couples married 4 years or less and by 5.8% for those married 5 to 9 years. In contrast, divorces increased by 1.1% and 1.7% for those married 10 to 14 years and 15 to 19 years, respectively. Divorces among couples married for 20 years or more decreased by 0.2%.

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