The number of second and subsequent births fell below 100,000 last year for the first time ever in South Korea. Analysts say the low birthrate reflects the hardships of child-rearing among parents who have actually experienced childbirth and child-rearing.
According to Statistics Korea on Mar. 3, the number of second or higher births last year was 91,700, down 12,448 from the previous year.
The number of second-plus births, which reached 153,656 in 2018, has plummeted by 40% in five years. This is more than double the rate of decline for first-borns (20.0%) over the same period.
Twenty years ago, the number of second and subsequent births far outpaced first births. From 336,000 in 2000, the number of second-plus births was overtaken by first-plus births for the first time in 2004, and the gap has widened every year since.
Last year, the gap between first and second births was 46,600. The increase has been particularly steep in recent years, more than doubling in five years from about 22,000 in 2019.
It has been pointed out that the decline in the number of second and later births needs to be viewed separately from the decline in first births, as it is a phenomenon of declining birth rates among parents who have experienced childbirth and childrearing.
In other words, it means that couples who initially had a positive attitude toward childbirth and childrearing tend to have their first child, and then later give up having more children after experiencing difficult childrearing.
The rising age of childbirth as the age of marriage increases is also cited as a reason for the decline in the number of second and subsequent births.
Last year, the average age at which women gave birth was 33.6 years old, and it has been rising every year. The average age of the second child was 34.4 years, 1.4 years older than the first child (33.0 years).
