The number of newborns in South Korea slipped over six percent on-year in January to stand at 25-thousand-three.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the latest tally is the lowest for the month of January since the agency began compiling related data in 1981.

In terms of monthly figures, the lowest to be posted overall was 19-thousand-576 last December.

The nation’s crude birth rate reached five-point-seven in January, marking the first time it slipped below six since related statistics were first compiled in 2000. Crude birth rate refers to the annual number of live births per one-thousand people.

The monthly number of new births has been declining on-year for 62 consecutive months since December 2015.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in January fell more than four percent on-year to 27-thousand-181.

Though the drop was smaller compared to last December, the nation continued to see a natural decline in population for the 15th month in January.