The number of newborns in October has risen for the sixth straight month on the back of more marriages in the year of the Golden Pig, according to government figures on Monday.
Statistics Korea said that in that month, the birth of newborns rose by 9.1 percent from the same period last year to reach 41,900 babies born.
The clip was the largest since January 2011, when the number grew by 10.8 percent on-year.
“The so-called ‘Echo Boom Generation,’ indicating the generation born to the baby boomers, and born between 1979 and 1983, has reached the eligible age to get married, which seems to have contributed to the increase,” Statistics Korea said. “The fact that there was a greater number of marriages in 2010… also affected the number of newborns.”
The number of marriages in October rose by 4.6 percent on-year to 27,100, while divorces rose 3.1 percent to 10,000. The number of deaths increased by 4.6 percent from last year to reach 22,900, the figures showed.
Meanwhile, the government also said that in November, fewer Koreans relocated to other regions within the country, in line with the recent trend.
A total of 650,000 people moved to new locations to reflect a 2.6 percent decline compared to November last year. Relocations have been falling for nine consecutive months since March.
Some 11 cities and provinces, including Sejong City, the new home of several ministries and other government organs, showed the biggest net inflow of people, along with Gyeonggi Province.
On the other hand, six others including Seoul and Busan saw a net population outflow, the statistical office said.
By Kim Ji-hyun (
jemmie@heraldcorp.com)
