Monday, August 26, 2002
Birth rate in Korea slips further down
A story published today by the Korean Herald reports that according to the National Statisical Office (NSO), Korea's birth rate has dropped in 2001 compared with the previous year.
According to the NSO, a total of 557,000 children were born in 2001, down 80,000 from a year earlier, lowering the average number of children born per woman to 1.30 in 2001 from 1.47 the previous year.
The total number of marriages also continued to fall last year due to a growing tendency to stay single, lowering the total fertility rate (TFR), which shows the average number of children per woman's lifetime, to 1.42 in 1999 from 1.78 in 1992.
NSO figures also showed the overall average age for child-bearing women rose to 29.3 years in 2001 from 29.1 years in 2000, showing a gradual rise from 28.7 years in 1999 and 27.2 years in 1991.
