Number of newborns in Korea hits record low for January

A father meets his twin babies through a video call. [YONHAP]

The number of newborn babies has hit another rock bottom.

The dire demographic news comes just a few days ahead of a presidential committee meeting to draw up plans for combating the falling birth rate.

There were 23,179 new babies born in January, a 6 percent decrease on year, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday.

This was the fewest babies born in the month of January since the agency began data compilation in 1981, and half of the 46,747 babies born in January 2008.

The on-year decrease in the number of newborn babies has been going on for 86 months. Crude birth rate, or the number of babies born per 1,000 people, dropped to 5.3 from 5.7 in January last year.

“Fewer babies were born because there were fewer marriages during the first half last year,” said Lim Young-il, director of the population census division at Statistics Korea, adding that the number of new babies and marriages are closely related.

Among the dropping demographic numbers, at least one category is rising: deaths.

Deaths in January were 32,703, a 9.6 percent increase on year and the highest number ever for January.

The record fewest births and most deaths produced a natural population decline of nearly 10,000, also a record for the month of January.

The population has been dropping for 39 months.

On the bright side, Statistics Korea reported that more people were getting married.

There were 17,926 marriages in January, a 21.5 percent on-year increase.

The rise stems from more couples tying the knot after postponing their wedding during the pandemic, said the statistics agency.

“We may see how more marriages impact births from the second half of this year,” Lim said.

But the census director was unsure of what to expect, because more people are choosing to have no children nowadays.

Eyes are now on the measures that may emerge from next week's meeting of the Presidential Committee of Aging Society and Population Policy.

President Yoon instructed the government on March 8 to come up with bold and definite countermeasures against the low birth rate.

The presidential committee spent a total of 280 trillion won ($219 billion) between 2005 and 2021 to raise the birth rate, but dispiriting statistics continued.

The committee is reportedly reviewing several successful overseas examples.

France raised its birth rate by encouraging non-marriage births and Germany and Canada raised theirs with relatively open immigration policies.

“The burden on people in their early and mid-30s, the reproductive age cohort having the toughest time, needs to be lifted first,” said Cho Young-tae, a public health science professor at Seoul National University.

The government needs to come up with tailored measures that are relevant to the young adults of today rather than trying to comply with the social structures created by older generations, Cho added.

BY KIM KI-HWAN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]