The number of marriages in Seoul has nearly halved over the past 20 years while the number of newborns plunged more than 60 percent. 

According to data released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday, the number of marriages in Seoul stood at 44-thousand-746 in 2020, the lowest over the past two decades. The figure dropped by more than seven percent compared to 2019 and more than 43 percent from 2000. 

Moreover, both men and women got married at older ages compared to the year 2000 with men tying the knot for the first time at 33-point-61 years old and women at 31-point-60 years old, on average. 

With couples waiting longer to say “I do,” the average age for a woman to have her first child climbed four-point-49 years from 2000 to 33-point-98 years old last year. 

The number of newborns reached 47-thousand-445 in 2020, down eleven-point-six percent from 2019 and 64-point-three percent compared to 2000. 

The capital city’s fertility rate halved to zero-point-64 last year from one-point-28 in 2000. The rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime. 

While newborns declined, the number of deaths witnessed a continuous increase. The Seoul government found that a total of 45-thousand-522 people in the capital died last year, up four percent from 2019. 

In particular, people aged 80 years or older accounted for more than 46 percent of deaths, up 14 percentage points from ten years ago and up nearly 21 percentage points from 20 years ago.