Childbirth sees uptick in Oct.

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- More babies were born in October compared with the
same month last year, marking the first time in 20 months that births have posted
positive growth, a report showed Wednesday.

There were 40,200 children born in the cited month, up 0.8 percent annually,
according to the Statistics Korea report. The modest gain is the first time since
February 2008 that the nation saw an increase in the number of newborns.
"The exact cause of the gain cannot be determined at present, but it may be a
sign that the steady decline in country's birthrate has been arrested," an
official said.
South Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, a fact that has raised
fears over diminished long-term growth and higher social security and medicare
expenses.
In the first nine months of this year, there were 378,900 babies born in South
Korea, a drop of 4.1 percent from the same period in 2008.
The October tally also showed the number of marriages falling 8.6 percent
compared with the year before, with about 23,300 couples tying the knot. In the
first 10 months of 2009, the number of people getting married was down 6.0
percent annually to 246,700 couples.
The report also showed a 5.2 percent annual increase in the number divorces.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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