By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Report
The number of babies born last year rose for the second straight year as many couples who tied the knot in 2006 gave birth, believing the year 2007, or ``the golden pig year'' in the lunar calendar, would bring luck to newborns. More Korean couples also had baby girls last year than in the past, improving the gender imbalance, while more than half of new babies were born in Seoul and its adjacent areas.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Tuesday, the number of babies born in 2007 totaled 497,000, up from 452,000 the previous year. In 2006, the number of newborns rose from 438,000 from 2005, marking the first upturn since 2000 when the figure recorded 637,000 thanks to the ``millennium baby boom.''
The birthrate, or the average number of babies expected per woman aged 15-49, also increased to 1.26 last year from 1.13 in 2006. In 2005, the country recorded the lowest rate of 1.08.
The crude birthrate, which indicates the number of children born per 1,000 people, stood at 10.1, up from 9.2 in 2006 and 9 in 2005.
The statistical office said more Koreans got married in 2006 on the belief that the year 2006 in the lunar calendar will bring luck to those who tie the knot. It encouraged many couples married in 2006 to give birth last year,'' it said.
However, the nation still has a far lower birthrate than member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2006, American women had an average of 2.1 infants, followed by 1.96 in France, 1.84 in Britain and 1.34 in Japan.
The mothers of newborns were 30.6 years old on average, up from 30.4 in 2006 and 30.2 in 2005. Women had their first child at the average age of 29.4 in 2007, with the second and the third children born at 31.5 and 33.6, respectively.
Women in their early 30s contributed most to the expanding the number of childbirths, outpacing those in their late 20s for the third year in a row. The number of births by women aged 30 to 34 totaled 207,000 last year, up 18,000 from a year earlier. That of women aged 25 to 29 rose by 14,000 to 188,000 during the same period.
The NSO also said the number of male newborns per 100 female newborns fell to 106.1 last year from 107.4 the previous year, indicating more Korean couples gave birth to baby girls. The ratio was the lowest since 1982 when nearly 107 baby boys were born for every 100 baby girls.
About 50.8 percent of babies were born in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. Gyeonggi Province had the largest number of newborns at 125,600, followed by 100,100 in Seoul and 33,200 in South Gyeongsang Province.