Number of South Korean newborns down in April

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Korean newborns continued to
decline in April from a year earlier as married couples opted to have fewer
babies, a government report showed Tuesday.

According to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the number of
newborns totaled 37,500 in the cited month, down 1,300 or 3.4 percent compared to
the same month in 2008.
It said the figure marks the 14th straight month of decline in total births in
the country. For the first four months of this year newborn numbers were down 4.8
percent on-year to 158,300.
South Korea has the lowest birth rate among the 30 member Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with the average woman giving birth
to 1.26 children in 2007. The rate was lower than 1.32 tallied for Japan, 1.96 in
France and 2.10 in the United States.
The NSO also said that the number of marriages that took place in April fell 6.9
percent annually to 24,700, while the number of divorces dropped 10.2 percent to
9,900 cases.
The latest monthly report added that the total number of deaths moved up 3.0
percent in April compared to the year before to 20,900.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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