Don't Miss

Childbirths in S. Korea hit over 2-year high in March

May 27, 2015

According to the report by Statistics Korea, about 40,400 babies were born in March, up a solid 6.3 percent from 38,000 reported for a year earlier.

SEJONG, May 27 (Yonhap) — The number of childbirths in South Korea reached a more than two-year high in March, a government report showed Wednesday, a positive turnaround for a country trying to get people to have more kids.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, about 40,400 babies were born in March, up a solid 6.3 percent from 38,000 reported for a year earlier. It was the highest on-year gain since a 9.2 percent increase in October 2012.

The on-year increase was also the sharpest reported for the month of March since the agency began tracking related data in 2000.

The rise comes after the number of childbirths rose 1.2 percent on-year in January before contracting 3 percent in February. For the first three months of 2015, 117,700 babies were born in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, up 1.5 percent from 116,000 tallied for the January-March period of last year.

“The number of women over 35 having babies played a part in the rise of newborn numbers last month,” an official from the statistical office said. “The number of babies born to mothers between 35 and 39 rose 1.7 percentage point.”

South Korea, whose population is expected to peak in 2030, has been trying to push up its birthrate to prevent a decline in the national workforce. Such a development can result in more welfare expenses and damage the country’s growth potential.

The report also showed that about 27,200 couples tied the knot in March, an 8.8 percent increase from the year before. The monthly number also represents a sharp increase from the 20,900 people who were married in the second month of 2015.

Newlywed numbers are a good indicator of childbirths down the line in South Korea because very few children are born to single-parent families.

The number of divorces, meanwhile, fell 3.2 percent on-year to 9,200, while there were 26,500 deaths, up 9.1 percent on-year, the statistical office said.

In a separate report, the agency said that the number of people changing their residence in April dipped 0.4 percent on-year, to 649,000. This is down from the 771,000 who moved in March. Of the total, 68.4 percent moved within the same city or province, with the remainder moving further away.