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The number of childbirths in South Korea fell for the 14th month in a row in January from a year earlier amid a late marriage trend and a rapidly aging population, a government report showed Tuesday.
About 35,100 babies were born in January, down 11.1 percent, or 4,400, from 39,500 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
The figure has been on a steady decline since it posted a 2.4 percent on-year drop in December last year.
The latest number also marked the lowest new childbirths for any January since 2001, when the statistical office started to compile such data.
But it is higher than an all-time monthly low of 27,200 newborns set in December last year.
South Korea has been suffering a chronically low birthrate and aging population for decades, as they are feared to reduce the workforce and drive up welfare costs, undermining the growth potential of Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The number of babies born in 2016 reached a record low of 406,300 last year, despite the government-led promotions and incentives to encourage young people to have more babies.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths came to 25,900 in January, down 4.9 percent from a year earlier, the report showed.
The number of marriages stayed nearly flat at 23,900 in January, while 8,100 couples divorced over the cited period, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)
