Fewer babies were born in South Korea in August compared with a year ago in the 18th consecutive month of the downward trend amid delayed marriages and a slow economy, according to a reported released by Statistics Korea, formerly the National Statistical Office (NSO).
The report said about 36,200 babies were born in August, down 4.2 percent from the same month a year earlier, marking the 18th consecutive year-on-year decline in childbirth since March 2008, when births declined 4.6 percent.
"It seems that a trend is taking root that people delay marriage or have fewer babies even after getting married," an official said. "The slumping economy also seems to be playing a part to discourage baby births."
The number of marriages fell 2.1 percent in the same month, with about 23,200 couples tying the knot, the report showed. This marked the 11th consecutive month of shrinkage.
The rate jumped in August due to the base effect of fewer divorces filed the same month a year earlier due to a government regulation aimed at discouraging family break-ups.
Last June, the government introduced a new regulation under which couples with young children have to wait for three months before being allowed to proceed with a divorce, a move that delayed filings for the following few months.
The number of divorces filed surged 54.7 percent to 9,900 in August, compared with 6,400 a year ago, according to the report.
Meanwhile, population mobility increased for the second consecutive month. A total of 671,000 people changed their legal residences in September, up 4.3 percent from a year ago, the report showed.