The number of newborns and the nation's total fertility rate both slipped to record lows in the first quarter of this year. 

According to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, a total of 70-thousand-519 babies were born between January and March. That’s down some four percent from the same period last year. 

It is the lowest first quarter figure since 1981 when the statistics agency began compiling related statistics.

The government also reported that the nation’s total fertility rate, or the number of children a woman will likely have in her lifetime, fell to point-88 in the first quarter. That’s down point-03 on year and is also the lowest figure to be posted for the first quarter since 1981.