Kids later, rather than sooner. At least that's what most young South Koreans have in mind these days.
晚育,而不是早育。至少这是如今大多数韩国年轻人的想法。
A report released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday shows that the median age of women giving birth in South Korea stood at 33.4 in 2021.
据韩国统计局周三发布的一份报告显示,2021年韩国女性的平均生育年龄为33.4岁。
That's 0.2 years older than the previous year and an all-time high since the relevant data was first compiled.
这一数据相比去年又延后了0.2年,创下了相关数据自统计以来的最高纪录。
The median age of first birth was 32.6. The birthrate for women aged 25 to 29 fell by 3.1.
生育第一胎年龄的中位数为32.6岁。韩国25-29岁女性的生育率下降了3.1。
For women 30 to 34, it fell by 2.9. But for women older than that, it was up 1.2.
而30-34岁女性的生育率下降了2.9。但是年龄更大一些的女性的生育率则上升了1.2。
Statistics Korea says a major factor is the age of marriage.
韩国统计局表示,造成这一现象的主要因素是结婚年龄。
The official also said the number of new marriages has been declining since 2012 along with the population of women of childbearing age.
该部门还表示,自2012年以来,育龄女性人数以及新婚人数都一直在下降。
Last year's fertility rate, which is the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime, fell to 0.81.
去年,韩国的生育率,即女性一生中平均生育的孩子数量,下降到了0.81。
That's the lowest since the figure was first compiled in 1970, and the lowest rate among 38 OECD countries.
这是自1970年该数据首次统计以来的最低水平,也是经合组织38个成员国中生育率最低的。
The number of babies born in 2021 dropped by over 4 percent on-year, to around 260,000.
2021年出生的婴儿数量同比下降了超过4%,约26万。
Meanwhile, the number of babies born this June dropped by a staggering 12.4 percent compared to a year earlier to just 18,300, the lowest figure for any month of June.
与此同时,今年6月出生的婴儿数量与去年同期相比下降了12.4%,仅为1.83万,为历年6月中最低值。