Korea’s fertility rate drops to record low of 0.7 again

A newborn baby [PIXABAY]

Korea’s fertility rate, or the average number of children born per woman, once again hit a record low at 0.70 in the second quarter, down by 0.05 from the same period last year, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday.

The figure is even below last year’s annual average of 0.78, which marked the world’s lowest, and the same as Korea’s lowest-ever quarterly figure of 0.70 in the Oct.-Dec. period last year. In the first quarter this year, the fertility rate came in at 0.81.

The latest grim data is further fueling concerns that this year’s annual fertility rate may fall even below the 0.70 level.

Korea's fertility rate hits 0.78, a new low and still lowest in OECD

The number of newborn babies shrank 6.8 percent on year to 56,087 in the April-June period, the lowest for the second quarter figure since 2009 when the statistics agency began to announce the relevant data.

In June, the monthly number of newborns was 18,615, down 1.6 percent on year. The figure has been on an on year decline for 91 months.

The number of deaths, on the other hand, increased by 1,900, or 7.6 percent in June, resulting in a net population decline of 8,205. This marked the 44th consecutive month of a natural population decrease.

In the second quarter, the population declined by 27,272. All cities and provinces except for Sejong saw a natural decrease in population.

The number of newlywed couples increased by 9.2 percent to 101,704 in the first half of the year, which is largely due to the record-low figures during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic for the past two years. Yet it is still the third-lowest since 1981 when the monthly data began to be compiled.

In next year’s budget plan announced on Tuesday, the government allotted increased funds for welfare and child care in order to tackle the country’s extremely low birthrates.

The paid parenting leave period is to be extended by an additional six months from the previous one year, while the parental subsidy benefit for parents of children below the age of one will be increased from this year’s 700,000 won ($529) to 1 million won per month, leading the government to increase the budget for the programs by 1 trillion won.

Moreover, a household with a newborn child will be granted additional financial support programs, including a loan of up to 500 million won at a low interest rate of 1 percent level.

Meanwhile, Korea’s younger generations are growing more accepting of divorce, and less so of marriage, a survey by Statistics Korea found.

Over the course of 10 years, the number of those between the ages of 19 and 34 who said “divorce is an option if there is a reason” has outrun that of those who believed “divorce is not an option whatsoever.”

The number of those accepting divorce as an option outran those who did not for the first time in 2018 at 22.6 percent to 20.9 percent, and the gap has been growing bigger through to 2022, with the former accounting for 24.1 percent and the latter 14.9 percent.

Those who are against divorce in any circumstance declined significantly from 2012’s 38.5 percent.

The percentage of those between 19 and 34 who view marriage positively decreased from 56.5 percent in 2012 to 36.4 percent last year. This is 13.6 percentage points lower than the average of 50 percent for all age groups.

Those who said "I don't need to have a child even if I get married" increased from 46.4 percent in 2018 to 53.5 percent last year.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]