'Baby drought' looms amid declining weddings
Korea this year is likely to register the least number of births since 2000, when Statistics Korea began recording the figures, and a big drop in weddings. / Courtesy of tvN
By Ko Dong-hwan
A decline in weddings and the record-low birthrate in Korea are having a big effect.
The nation saw 283,100 babies born from January to August this year, 16,800 fewer than last year, according to Statistics Korea. It is the first time the figure has dropped below 290,000 during the period since 2000, when the agency started keeping track of newborns.
At this rate, experts predict that this year could see the least number of babies born since 2000.
A yearly comparison of births shows the number hit a high of 490,000 in 2007 and was at its lowest at 435,031 in 2005. The rate has not increased since 2013, when the figure dropped to about 440,000.
The number of weddings in the period this year was the lowest since 2000, with 188,200. At this rate, this year may fall short of 2015, which had a record-low 302,828 weddings. Experts say this year’s figure may not reach 300,000.
“The government has invested 80 trillion won ($70 billion) since 2005 to resolve the low-birthrate problem,” local daily DongA Ilbo said. “Despite the efforts, the low-birth clock now appears to have moved backward to 10 years ago.”