SEOUL: The number of babies born in the Republic of Korea marked a growth for the first time in 19 months in April, data showed Wednesday, as the country is struggling to boost its ultra-low birth rate.
Korean news agency Yonhap reported that a total of 19,049 babies were born in April 2024, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It was the first time since September 2022 that the figure logged a growth.
“The growth came as the number of newly married couples rose over the past couple of years after the COVID-19 pandemic, though it remains to be seen if such an uptrend could continue,” an agency official said.
The rebound was also partly attributable to a high base effect, as the number of newborns hit an all-time low of 18,528 in April 2023, falling 12.5 percent compared to same period in the previous year. During the first four months of 2024, however, the number of newborns reached a record low of 79,523.
The total fertility rate, which means the average
number of expected births from a woman in her lifetime, also hit a record yearly low of 0.72, which came far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.
In the first quarter of 2024, the fertility rate came to 0.76, falling 0.06 year-on-year. The number of deaths rose 4 percent to 28,659 in April 2024, and the population, accordingly, declined by 9,610. The number of deaths has outpaced that of newborns since November 2019.
The number of couples getting married surged 24.6 percent to 18,039 in April, following a 5.5 percent fall the previous month. The number of couples getting divorced went up 5.7 percent to 7,701, the data showed.
The Republic of Korea is experiencing grim demographic changes, as many young people opt to postpone or give up on getting married or having babies in line with changing social norms and lifestyles. Many have also pointed to high home prices and a tough job market as major reasons.
Korea is expected to be a highly aged country by
2072 as the median age will increase from 44.9 in 2022 to 63.4 in 2072, and the population will tumble to around 36.22 million in 2072 from last year’s 51 million.
Source: Emirates News Agency