The country's population declined for three consecutive years due to a combination of plunging birth rate, society’s accelerated aging and the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data from Statistics Korea on Wednesday, there were 20-thousand-658 newborns in October, down zero-point-four percent from a year earlier.

The on-year gain was the lowest for October since the agency began compiling related data in 1981. The tally for newborns has seen an on-year decline for 83 straight months since December 2015.

The number of deaths in October, on the other hand, stood at the month's record of 29-thousand-763, up seven-point-three percent on-year.

The fall in natural population, which subtracts deaths from births, stood at nine-thousand-104 in October, marking a 36-month slide.

Between January and October, the cumulative population decreased by 95-thousand-879.