| S. Korea's childbirths show growth in Feb. |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2012-04-27 16:54 |
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South Korea saw a 6.3 percent increase in the number of births in February compared with the same month a year before, a report showed Friday.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, the number of newborns in February stood at 46,000, up 6.3 percent, or about 2, 400 from the same month last year.
The growth came after the country had suffered five straight months of decline in childbirths starting in October last year.
Seoul's Yonhap news agency quoted an official from the statistical agency as saying that the country's childbirths, which fall under the influence of how social conditions were 10 months ago, grew as expectations of economic recovery began to appear from April last year.
The declining birthrate and aging population have long been a chronic problem in South Korea, raising concerns about a shrinking workforce that could hamper the country's economic growth.
The country has one of the world's lowest fertility of 1.2 children per mother, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). |
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