SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea posted the lowest rate of childbirth in the third quarter, fueling worry about a so-called demographic cliff, a government report showed Wednesday.
The number of newborn babies was 73,793 in the July-September quarter, down 8.3 percent, or 6,687, from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest third-quarter reading since relevant data began to be compiled in 1981.
The total fertility rate, which measures the number of babies a woman is forecast to bear during lifetime, retreated to 0.88 in the third quarter from 0.96 in the same quarter of last year.
It was less than half of 2.1, a total fertility rate required to maintain the current 51 million population of the country.
The country's newborns continued to decline amid the spreading social trend of late marriage and the reducing number of women who are of childbearing age.
The number of marriages fell 0.9 percent over the year to 53,320 in the September quarter, marking the lowest third-quarter figure since 1981.
The continued slide in childbirth stoked worry about the demographic cliff, which refers to a sudden drop of in the heads of household eventually leading to consumption cliff.
The low birth rate has been a headache for the South Korean economy as it can lead to the lower workforce amid the rapidly aging population, which could drag down the economy's growth potential.
The number of deaths shed 0.4 percent to 70,412 in the third quarter, while the number of divorces increased 4.3 percent to 27,571.
