Europe News Desk!!! The number of births in South Korea fell to its lowest level in March. This has deepened the serious population crisis in Asia’s No. 4 economy. New figures came out on Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea data, only 21,138 babies were born in March this year, down 8.1 percent from the previous year. This is the lowest number for any March since the statistics agency began compiling monthly data in 1981. The number of babies born in South Korea has been declining for 88 consecutive months, Yonhap news agency reported. The low birth rate has been one of the major problems for South Korea. Younger generations are delaying or skipping childbearing due to high housing prices and economic uncertainties.
The country’s total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime, has come down to 0.81 in the first quarter of 2023, down 0.06 from last year. Experts say that the rate is expected to fall further. South Korea’s population will remain stable at 51.5 million. Meanwhile, deaths continue to outnumber births. This trend is going on since 2020. The number of deaths reached 28,922 in March, down 35.2 percent from the previous year. The data showed the number of marriages rose 18.8 per cent year-on-year to 18,192 as more couples tied the knot amid the lifting of pandemic rules. Divorce cases increased by 4.7 per cent to 8,255 cases during this period.
–IANS
World News Desk!!!
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