The country’s total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime, fell below zero-point-nine last year.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the total fertility rate dropped to a record low of zero-point-84 in 2020, marking the third consecutive year it fell below one. The rate has been steadily dropping from point-98 in 2018 and point-92 in 2019.

Among the 38 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) as of 2019, South Korea is the only country with a total fertility rate below one. The OECD average is one-point-61.

The number of newborns last year totaled a record low of 272-thousand-300, down ten percent from 2019.

The number of babies born during the first half of this year plunged to a fresh low of 136-thousand-917, down three-point-five percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time the tally dropped below 140-thousand.