'Shrinking Number of Births' Annual 230,000 Babies Burden... Halved in 8 Years
by Kim Eunha
Published 28 Jan.2024 09:34(KST)
Lowest Number of Births Recorded in November Last Year
Annual Births of 230,000 Also at Risk
The number of births last year is expected to struggle to exceed 230,000. The number of babies born in November dropped to the 17,000 range. This is the lowest figure ever recorded for the same month since related statistics began in 1981.
According to the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of Statistics Korea on the 28th, the number of births from January to November last year was 213,572. This is also the lowest figure ever recorded. Although the number of births in December is still being tallied, considering that the November births were 17,000, significantly below 20,000, and that births typically decline at the end of the year, the total number of births in 2023 is unlikely to exceed 230,000.
The number of births, which generally stayed in the 20,000 range until 2022, fell below 20,000 every month last year except for January (23,179) and March (21,138). In particular, the number of births in February, April-May, and July-October, which had remained above 20,000 until 2022, shrank to the 10,000 range last year. The total fertility rate for the fourth quarter is expected to drop to the 0.6 range, and the annual rate is projected to barely reach the 0.7 range.
The number of births in 2022 was 249,186, falling below 250,000 for the first time in history. The number of births, which was 438,420 in 2015, has halved in eight years. It has continuously decreased without exception during this period.
The halving period for the number of births has also shortened. The number of births, which exceeded 1 million in 1970-1971, remained in the 900,000 range from 1972 to 1974, and then fluctuated between 700,000 and 800,000 until 1983. It dropped to the 600,000 range from 1984 to 1990, rebounded to the 700,000 range from 1991 to 1995, then fell back to the 600,000 range and maintained that level until 2000. After entering the 400,000 range in 2002, it fluctuated but has been rapidly decreasing for eight years since 2015.
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