World’s lowest fertility rate recorded in South Korea again after 2018

South Korea’s fertility rate falls below 1.0 for the first time since 2018

South Korea has shattered its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate in the face of a rapidly dwindling population, according to official figures.

The report released by the country’s statistics office on Wednesday showed its fertility rate, or the number of expected babies per South Korean woman, dropped to 0.81 in 2021 – down from 0.84 recorded the previous year.

National capital Seoul recorded the lowest fertility rate at 0.63, while the most populous province, Gyeonggi, had just a 0.85 rate.