Marriage, childbirth lowest in June

By Choi Sung-jin

Marriages and births hit their lowest in June, the national statistical office said Thursday.

Given couples tend to have their first babies within two years of marriage, the birthrate two years later is also expected to hit the bottom, Statistics Korea said.

According to demographic trends, the number of marriages was 24,300 in June, down 9 percent from a year ago and the lowest among June figures since 2000, when the office began producing monthly tallies. It also was the steepest year-to-year drop recorded in the sixth months.

The number of marriages in the second quarter totaled 72,600, down 6,800 from a year ago. Men and women aged 25-29 recorded the sharpest falls of 1.4 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, in their marriage rates.

First marriages by men totaled 5,300, down 7.8 percent, and those by women fell 7.4 percent to 4,900. Second marriages by men and women slid 12.7 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively.

The government statistical agency attributed declining number of marriages to the structural problems of population decrease and the economic slump.

“The number of people of marriageable age, such as the late 20s and early 30s, has declined to pull down the number of marriages to rock-bottom level,” said Lee Ji-yeon, director of the Vital Statistics Division. There was a fall of 2.5 percent in the number of men from June last year and a 2.9 percent fall in women, she said.

“The economic slowdown and increase in housing costs also seem to have made young people avoid or put off marriages, adversely affecting the number of newlyweds,” Lee said.

The number of babies born in June was also the lowest, with 32,900, a decrease of 7.3 percent from the same month last year.

The number of births in the second quarter totaled 102,600, down 7,500 from a year earlier. The total fertility rate in the April-June period was 0.29 per woman, down 0.02 from a year ago. In yearly terms, the birthrate stood at a mere 1.16 per woman, even lower than 1.24 in 2015.

The decline in childbirth is expected to aggravate because of the fall in marriages.

“In general, seven out of 10 newlyweds have their first babies in two years of marriage, but the declining number of marriages will likely exert influence on childbirth two years later,” Lee said.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in June was 21,400, up 0.5 percent from the same month last year, and that of divorces fell 8 percent to 9,200, the office said.