S.Korea's childbirth hits lowest October figure

Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-26 14:36:17|Editor: yhy
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SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's childbirth hit the lowest October figure, boosting worry about a so-called demographic cliff, a government report showed Thursday.

The number of newborn babies was 25,648 in October, down 3.1 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest October reading since the statistical office began compiling the data in 1981.

The childbirth kept the record-breaking trend for 43 months since April 2016.

During the January-October period, the childbirth came in at 257,965, down 7.5 percent compared with the same period of last year.

The country's newborns continued to fall amid the growing social trend of delayed marriage and the sliding number of women who are of childbearing age.

The number of marriages dipped 7.0 percent over the year to 20,331 in October, marking the second-lowest October figure since 1981.

The continued slide in childbirth fueled concerns about the demographic cliff, which refers to a sudden drop in the heads of household eventually leading to a 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 divorces shrank 6.5 percent to 9,865 in the month, but the number of deaths increased 2.0 percent to 25,520.

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