9월 출생아 수 전년동월대비 2.2% 감소...사망자 수 3.4% 증가<br /><br />South Korea's population continues to shrink.<br />In September, data show the number of deaths outnumbered births for an eleventh month in a row.<br />Births have declined on-year now... every month for nearly five years straight.<br />The pandemic also resulted in fewer people getting married.<br />Min Suk-hyen reports.<br />The number of babies born in South Korea this September has fallen 2-point-2 percent from a year earlier.<br />According to Statistics Korea, 23-thousand-566 babies were born in September.<br />Although that figure is slightly up from the previous month, it is still the lowest for any month of September since data was first compiled in 1981.<br />The number of births has been dipping year-on-year for 58 consecutive months.<br />One mother says it's because of the cost of raising a child.<br />"I love my kid. But actually it's not easy to raise children nowadays… so, that's why I have just one. And I don't think I would be able to have another one."<br />Another reason for fewer babies is that more people are getting married later, so women are older when they first give birth.<br />"The fall is attributed to a population decline in women in their 30s. The number of marriages has also continued to drop since 2012, which has raised the age of first-time mothers."<br />The number of marriages has been fairly low. In September, there were only 15-thousand-324 marriages, down 3 percent from a year earlier.<br />"To overcome these problems of low birth and marriage rates, it is important to create a social environment to support childcare and families, whether it be in the form of more financial support or more policies."<br />Despite the country's efforts to increase the fertility rate, there have been more deaths than births for 11 straight months.<br />More than 24-thousand-300 deaths were recorded in September, up 3-point-4 percent from the same month last year.<br />Min Suk-hyen, Arirang News.<br />
