The number of marriages and childbirths in January dropped to an all-time seasonal low for the month. 
 
Statistics Korea said Thursday that the number of marriages in the country declined 15-point-eight percent year-on-year to 23-thousand-900 in January, the lowest recorded figure for January since 2000.
 
The number of childbirths also fell to the lowest level for the month of January, posting a five-point-seven percent on-year drop to 39-thousand-500.
 
The reason fewer couples are tying the knot is attributed to the nation's decreasing population, and the dwindling perception that marriage is necessary. 
 
According to a Statistics Korea survey last year, less than half of South Koreans born between 1979 and 1992 believed that marriage is necessary.
 
The figure was over 66 percent for baby boomers born between 1955 and 1963.
 
The trend of marrying later is also spreading. The average age of first time newlyweds was 32-point-four for men and 29-point-eight for women in 2014. The age increased by a year and a half for men and two-point-one years for women since 2005.
 
In January, the number of divorces dropped ten-point-eight percent year-on-year to 83-hundred cases. The number of deaths was down zero-point-four percent to 24-thousand-700.