Number of births, another record low

The number of babies born in August was the lowest on record for the same month. Conversely, the number of deaths was the highest on record. In August, the country’s population dropped by more than 10,000 in a single month for the first time since the nation began collecting related data. The population decline seems to be accelerating every month, and there seems to be no brakes.

According to the August population trend released by Statistics Korea on October 25, the number of newborn babies in August was 18,984, the lowest on record for August. It was the first time that the number of births in August fell below 20,000 since statistics had been recorded. It was also the fifth-lowest figure in all the months in history.

In terms of the rate of decline, the number of births in August dropped by 12.8% (2,798) in a year. This was the largest drop since November 2020 (-3,673, -15.5%). With the exception of last September (up 13), the number of births has decreased every month from December 2015 to August this year. The crude birth rate, which shows the number of live births per 1,000 population, also hit a new record low in August at 4.4, down 0.6 year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in August was 30,540, the highest on record for August. The number of deaths has steadily increased as the elderly population continues to grow.

Monthly deaths have increased every month since March 2021, with the exception of three months from February to April this year. The number of deaths from February to April decreased year-over-year after a spike in Covid-related deaths early last year.

Due to fewer births and more deaths, the population decreased by 11,556 in August.

This was the highest number for August since related data was collected, and this was also the first year when the population declined by more than 10,000 in August. The country’s population has been declining naturally for 46 consecutive months since November 2019.

This year alone, the population declined by 72,725 from January to August. At this rate, the population is likely to fall by more than 100,000 by the end of the year.