The number of newborns in South Korea fell to the lowest for any October to date.

According to data from Statistics Korea on Wednesday, a total of 18-thousand-904 babies were born in October, down eight-point-four percent from a year earlier.

The figure marks the lowest number for any October since the related data was first compiled in 1981.

Babies born in the first ten months of the year stood at 196-thousand-41, down eight-point-one percent from a year ago to also hit the lowest figure on record during the cited period.

Following the first reported natural population decline in 2019, the trend of deaths surpassing births has now continued for 48 straight months, with deaths rising three-point-four percent on-year to 30-thousand-793 in October to result in a population deficit of eleven-thousand-889.