First Quarter Birth Rate Drops to 0.7... March Births Fall Below 20,000

Statistics Korea Announces March Population Trends
Total Fertility Rate Also Falls Below 0.8 Threshold

The total fertility rate (TFR) for the first quarter has fallen below 0.7 for the first time. The TFR, which represents the expected number of children a woman will have in her lifetime, also dropped below 0.8 for the first time. The number of births in March fell below 20,000.

According to the population trends for March 2024 released by Statistics Korea on the 29th, the number of births in the first quarter was 60,474, a decrease of 3,994 (6.2%) compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest figure ever recorded for the first quarter.

The total fertility rate was recorded at 0.76. This is the lowest ever for the first quarter, down 0.06 from 0.82 a year ago, breaking below the 0.8 mark for the first time. The TFR decreased in all provinces. Considering that births are usually higher at the beginning of the year and decrease toward the end, the TFR is likely to decline further for the remainder of this year.

Looking at the fertility rate by age group of birthing women (number of births per 1,000 women in the respective age group), there was a decline in all age groups over 25. The largest decrease was in the 30-34 age group (72.3 births), which dropped by 4.4 births.

The tendency not to have a second child or more also continued.

The number of deaths in the first quarter was 93,626, a decrease of 4,650 (5.2%) compared to a year ago. The crude death rate (deaths per 1,000 population) was 7.4, an increase of 0.3 during the same period. Since the number of deaths exceeded the number of births, the natural population decrease in the first quarter was 33,152. The natural decrease widened compared to a year ago (-24,509).

By month, the number of births in March was 19,669, down 1,549 (7.3%) from a year ago. This is the lowest record for March and the first time it has fallen below 20,000. The number of deaths was 31,160, an increase of 2,205 (7.6%) from a year ago. As a result, the natural population change in March, calculated by subtracting deaths from births, was -11,491, marking the 53rd consecutive month of natural population decline.

The number of marriages in the first quarter was 54,155, an increase of 197 (0.4%) compared to a year ago. The general marriage rate, calculated by dividing the total number of marriages by the population aged 15 and over, was 9.7, down 0.1 from a year ago. Divorces in the first quarter increased by 14 (0.1%) to 22,744 compared to a year ago. The number of marriages and divorces in March were 17,198 and 7,450 respectively, down 992 (5.5%) and 805 (9.8%) compared to a year ago.