South Korea's Births Rebound in July
The number of newborn babies expanded 7.9 percent from a year earlier to 20,601 in July after reducing 1.8 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Korea.
It marked the fastest July growth rate since July 2007 when the number jumped 12.4 percent.
However, the number of newborns remained low as young couples delayed or gave up on having children owing to economic difficulties such as high housing prices and stubborn unemployment.
The low birth rate fueled worry about a so-called demographic cliff, which refers to a sharp reduction in the heads of households eventually leading to a consumption cliff.
The number of marriages surged 32.9 percent to 18,811 in July compared to the same month of 2023, recording the fastest July growth rate since relevant data began to be compiled in 1981.
The number of divorces gained 5.9 percent to 7,939 in the cited month, while the number of deaths rose 0.4 percent to 28,240.
Affected by the still-low births and high deaths, the country's population continued to slide since November 2019.
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