Births fall in Korea for 19th month

Fewer babies were born in Korea in September compared with a year earlier, marking the 19th consecutive month of negative growth, a report showed Tuesday, according to Yonhap News.

The report by the Statistics Korea adds to growing fears that the country is rapidly becoming an aged society. South Korea`s birthrate has sunk to one of the lowest in the world, while its average life expectancy has continued to climb.

Around 38,200 babies were born in September nationwide, the report said, down 4.7 percent on-year. The number has been falling since March 2008, when births fell 4.6 percent.

In the first nine months of this year, there were 338,700 babies born in the Korea, down 4.6 percent from the same period in 2008.

While many blame the declining birthrate on a trend among young people to postpone marriage and have fewer kids, a Statistics Korea official hesitated to specify a single reason.

"The exact cause cannot be determined, but sluggish economic conditions may be one reason for the steady drop in newborn babies," the official said.

The September report showed the number of marriages increasing 4.0 percent vis-a-vis the year before, with about 20,900 couples tying the knot. But for the entire year, the number of people getting married fell 5.7 percent annually to 223,400 couples.

Fewer divorces were filed in September as the government introduced new rules discouraging family break-ups. Couples with young children can file for divorce but must wait three months before the proceedings can begin.