SEOUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's childbirth kept falling for 40 straight months to March, maintaining worry about a so-called demographic cliff, a government report showed Wednesday.
The number of newborn babies was 27,100 in March, down 9.7 percent, or 2,900, from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
The childbirth continued to decline for 40 months since December 2015. It was the lowest March reading since the statistical office began compiling the data in 1981.
During the January-March quarter, the number of newborns declined 7.6 percent over the year to 83,100, the lowest first-quarter reading since the data began to be compiled.
The total fertility rate stood at 1.01 in the first quarter, down 0.07 from a year earlier. The rate refers to the number of babies, to whom a woman of the childbearing age from 15 to 49 is expected to give birth during her lifetime.
The rate stayed below 1 for three straight quarters through the fourth quarter of last year. It requires the rate of at least 2.1 to maintain the country's current 50 million population.
The continued fall in newborns was attributed to the social trend of delayed marriage and the reducing number of women who are of childbearing age.
The number of marriages tumbled 14 percent over the year to 19,600 in March. During the first quarter, the marriage slipped 10.7 percent to 59,100, posting the lowest first-quarter figure.
The continued slide in childbirth fueled concern about the demographic cliff, which refers to a sudden drop in the heads of household eventually leading to a consumption cliff.
According to the statistical agency's estimate, the South Korean population was forecast to begin falling from 2028.
The low birth rate has been a headache for the South Korean economy as it can lead to the lower workforce amid the fast-aging population, which would drag down the economy's growth potential.
