Newborns fall below 20,000 in August, down 12.8% year-on-year

In August, the number of newborns in South Korea plunged by the largest margin in two years and nine months. In contrast, the number of deaths hit an all-time high as the population declined by more than 10,000 due to natural causes. The number of marriages has also declined again after a post-pandemic boom.

According to the ‘population trend’ released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of newborns in August declined 12.8 percent (2,798) year-on-year to 18,984. The figure is the smallest for an August tally since Korea started compiling the data in 1981. It is also the first year ever when the number of newborns fell below 20,000 in August. The number of newborns for August hit an all-time low (33,897) in 2016 and has been hitting record lows yearly.

The extent of the monthly decline for this past August was exceptionally significant. It was the largest contraction since November 2020 (-15.5 percent). For tallies for August, the decline was the third largest after 2008 (-14.2 percent) and 2001 (-13.4 percent). The low facility rate has thus accelerated, which is apparently being affected in earnest by a decline in marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of deaths gained 1.7 percent (500) from a year ago to 30,540, an all-time high. As a result, Korea’s population saw a natural decline of 11,566. The extent of the natural decline was also the largest ever for August. From January to August this year, Korea’s population decreased by 72,725 due to natural causes.

The number of marriages in August amounted to 14,610, down 7.0 percent from a year ago. The number of marriages rose from August to March this year due to a flurry of marriages that had been postponed due to the pandemic. As the effect of the endemic has subsided, the number of marriages has declined anew. “Marriages that were postponed due to the pandemic seem to have been done largely through the first half of this year,” a Statistics Korea official said.


1am@donga.com