Births Reach Historic Low in February

The number of babies born in Korea in February fell by another 11.3 percent on-year, marking the 51st month in a row that the birthrate has fallen.

According to Statistics Korea, 22,854 babies were born in February, the fewest since records began in 1981. On the other hand, the number of deaths rose to an all-time high of 25,419, an increase of 10.9 percent on-year and the highest figure on record.

As predicted for decades, Korea's population started to shrink in recent years, and has gotten smaller each month so far since last November.