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By Yi Whan-woo
The nation's population decline has been accelerating, with the number of newborn babies falling to a new low in April, Statistics Korea said Wednesday.
According to the statistics agency, 18,484 babies were born in April, down 12.7 percent from a year earlier. That is the lowest number for any April since the agency started compiling relevant data in 1981.
And this year marked the first time that the number of births dipped below the 20,000 mark in April.
The number of newborn babies in Korea has declined every month since December 2015.
The number of births per 1,000 people shrank by 0.6 from a year earlier to 4.4 in April, marking the lowest level on record for that month.
By region, all major cities and provinces except for North Chungcheong Province reported a year-on-year decline in the number of newborn babies.
Meanwhile, Korea's entire population shrank for the 42nd consecutive month in April in the midst of dwindling births.
The number of marriages also dropped to the lowest level for the month of April at 14,475 and also marked the first decline following a monthly increase from August 2022.
The number of deaths fell 24.8 percent year-on-year to 27,581 in April due to a base effect in the same month last year when the COVID-19 pandemic was still spreading.
In separate data, Statistics Korea said the fewest number of Korean citizens moved to new addresses in 48 years last month as the population of people in their 20s and 30s shrinks and older age groups tend to be more settled.
It said 497,000 people moved to new addresses in May, down 4.9 percent from a year earlier.
“It also appears that young, would-be homeowners were cautious about buying a house due to steep rate hikes for more than a year and economic instability,” Statistics Korea said.
By region, Gyeonggi Province saw the biggest increase in residents at 4,427, followed by Incheon at 1,991.