SEJONG — South Korea’s total fertility rate hit a record high last year as the number of births continued to fall, data showed Wednesday, underscoring the country’s grim demographic situation.

The country’s total fertility rate – the average number of children a woman bears during her lifetime – stood at 0.81 children in 2021, up from 0.84 the previous year, data from Statistics Korea.

It was the lowest since the statistics agency started compiling related data in 1970. Last year also marked the fourth year in a row that the number was below 1.

South Korea is the only country where the number of births per woman has remained below 1 among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2020, the total fertility rate of OECD countries averaged 1.59.

South Korea is grappling with a chronic decline in births as many young people delay or forgo getting married and having babies amid a slowing economy and high housing prices, coupled with changing social norms regarding marriages.

Last year, the number of newborn babies hit a record high of 260,600, down 11,800 from the previous year, the data showed. The annual number of births fell below 300,000 for the second consecutive year.

In the 1970s, the annual number of births remained around one million, but continued to decline, with the number falling below 400,000 for the first time in 2017.

The country’s crude birth rate – the number of births per 1,000 people – also hit an all-time low of 5.1 in 2021, down from 5.3 the previous year.

The average age of women giving birth was 33.4 last year, up from 33.1 a year ago, the data showed.

The ratio of baby boys per 100 newborn girls stood at 105.1 last year, down from a record high of 104.8 the previous year.

In South Korea, the sex ratio at birth has remained high above 100 due to its traditional preference for male children. But it has largely been in steady decline amid changing social norms.

South Korea reported the first natural drop in its population in 2020, as the number of deaths exceeded that of newborns.

Experts have expressed concern that the country could face an “earthquake of the age” from 2030-40, an earthquake-like demographic shock due to a declining population and a rapid aging, if it does not address the problem in a timely manner.

South Korea’s working-age population is expected to fall by 35% over the next 30 years due to record birth rates and rapid aging, according to a government estimate. (Yonhap)