Anchor: The country’s total fertility rate fell to yet another all-time low in the second quarter to zero-point-seven, which means three out of 10 women will likely not give birth during their lifetime. The government unveiled the grim figure as it estimated that the number of newborns plunged to a record low for the month of June.
Our Bae Joo-yon has the details.

Report: According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the total fertility rate dropped to a record low of zero-point-seven for the April-to-June period after standing at zero-point-81 in the first quarter.

The rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime, and according to experts, a country needs a fertility rate of two-point-one to maintain a stable population without migration.

The figure, which came to zero-point-87 in the first quarter of last year, ended up posting an all-time low again after logging zero-point-seven in the fourth quarter of last year.

Last year, South Korea’s total fertility rate reached zero-point-78, the lowest among OECD member nations, and is likely to slip further this year considering the trends in the second half of the year.

In June, 18-thousand-615 babies were born, the lowest for the month since the agency began compiling related data in 1981, while the on-month decline also continued a 90-month streak since December 2015.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, climbed to a monthly record high of 26-thousand-820, with the agency citing the aging society, resulting in a natural population decline of eight-point-205 to continue the 44-month streak that began in November of 2019.

The number of marriages, on the other hand, grew around seven percent on-year in June as many couples tied the knot after postponing their weddings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.