The population naturally declined for the second consecutive year in 2021, with the country posting a record low birth rate.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, a historically low 260-thousand-500 babies were born last year, down four-point-three percent from a year earlier.

The total fertility rate, calculated as the average number of children that a woman would have over her lifetime, stood at point-81, down zero-point-03 on-year. South Korea has the lowest rate among OECD member nations.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, rose four-point-two percent on-year to 317-thousand-800, leading to a natural population decline of 57-thousand-300.