More Korean Women Have Kids in Their 40s

More and more Korean women wait until their 40s to have children if they have them at all, surging 43 percent over the last decade even as the overall birthrate continues to plummet.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, overall childbirths fell from 424,717 in 2013 to 244,580 last year, down 42.4 percent.

The number of babies born to women in their 20s fell 63.5 percent over the 10-year period to 38,695 and among women in their 30s 38.6 percent to 185,945. But children born to women in their 40s increased 43.3 percent to 19,636.

That means the proportion of 20-something mothers plunged to just 15.8 percent, while the majority are now women in their 30s with 76 percent, and new mothers in their 40s accounted for eight percent.