Anchor: The total fertility rate in the country plunged to a record zero-point-65 in the fourth quarter last year amid growing concerns over chronic low births, population decline and aging society.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: The nation's total fertility rate, the number of children that would be born to a woman in her lifetime, fell to an all-time low of zero-point-65 in the fourth quarter of last year and zero-point-72 for all of 2023.

This means that on average 100 women would give birth to 65 children in South Korea.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the total fertility rate, which first fell below one to zero-point-92 in 2019, has since been on an accelerated decline.

The statistical agency said the drop likely stems from a gradual decrease in the number of marriages since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020.

The agency said 230-thousand babies were born in 2023, down seven-point-seven percent from a year earlier.

The crude birth rate, or the annual number of live births per one-thousand population, dropped from four-point-nine in 2022 to four-point-five.

The average age of women who had given birth rose zero-point-one on-year to 33-point-six years, with mothers aged 35 or older taking up 36-point-three percent of the total.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths last year fell five-point-four percent to 352-thousand-700, with the population naturally contracting 122-thousand-800 for a four-year streak of decline.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.