SEOUL, July 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's childbirth logged the lowest May figure, fueling worry about the so-called demographic cliff, statistical office data showed Wednesday.

The number of newborn babies stood at 22,052 in May, down 3.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the lowest May reading since data began to be compiled in 1981.

The year-over-year number continued to decline for 66 months since December 2015 amid the growing social trend of delayed marriage and the falling number of women who are of childbearing age.

The low birth rate boosted concerns about the demographic cliff, which refers to a drop in the heads of household eventually leading to a consumption cliff.

The number of marriages diminished 11.0 percent over the year to 16,153 in May, marking the lowest May figure.

The number of divorces shrank 5.4 percent to 8,445 in the cited month.

The number of deaths increased 5.0 percent to 25,571 in May. Given the death growth and the childbirth reduction, the country's population kept skidding for 19 months since November 2019.

For the first five months of this year, the country's natural decrease of population came to 12,824. Enditem

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