SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Childbirth in South Korea hit the lowest monthly figure in history in November last year, boosting worry about low growth potential amid a falling workforce, statistics data showed Wednesday.
The number of newborn babies was 27,000 in November, down 11.2 percent, or 3,400, from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest in history, keeping a downward trend for 24 months since December 2015.
During the January-November period, the childbirth number was 333,000, down 12.1 percent compared with the same period in the previous year.
The continued childbirth decline was attributable to the falling number of women of childbearing age and the social trend to delay marriage and the first childbirth.
The number of marriage shed 3.1 percent over the year to 24,600 in November.
The country's childbirth maintained a downward trend since 2013 except for the increase of 3,000 in 2015. The fall in November heralded a fresh yearly low in 2017.
The low birth rate has been a headache for the South Korean economy with its dropping number of workforce and the fast-aging population. The low childbirth and the aging population would drag down the economy's growth potential.
