February births fall below 20,000 for the first time in history in South Korea

The number of births in South Korea fell below 20,000 in February this year. This is the first time that the number of births in February has fallen below 20,000.
According to the February Population Trends report, the number of births in February was 19,362, down 658 (3.3%) from the same month last year.
This is the first time that the number of births in February has fallen below 20,000, setting a new record low. The number of births in February has fallen below 30,000 since the year after 2017 (30,499), and has remained below 30,000 for six consecutive years until last year.
The population was in the 10,000 range. Also, with the number of deaths exceeding the number of births, the population in February was a "natural decrease" of 10,614. South Korea's population has been declining for 52 months since November 2019.
The natural decline in the number of deaths exceeded 10,000, the highest in any February to date. A Statistics Bureau official said, "The number of deaths among people aged 85 and over has increased due to the aging population," and "As February this year is a leap year, the number of deaths in February is 1
Meanwhile, the number of marriages in February was 16,949, down 896 (5.0%) from the same month last year.
There were 7,354 divorces in February, an increase of 128 (1.8%) from the same month last year.