The number of South Koreans tying the knot with foreign nationals fell to a record low last year.

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, 16-thousand-177 such couples wed last year, which is down 34-point-six percent from a year earlier. It also marks the first time that the annual tally dropped below 20-thousand since the agency began collecting data in 2008.

International marriages accounted for seven-point-six percent of all marriages in 2020, down two-point-seven percentage points on-year. An official at Statistics Korea attributed the decline to restricted overseas travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, babies born to international couples stood at 16-thousand-421, down eight-point-five percent from a year before. But they accounted for six percent of overall births, a record high against the country's declining birth rate since 2013.