The nation’s natural population decline extended to a 42-month streak after the number of newborns slipped below 20-thousand for the first time ever for the month of April. 

According to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, a total of 18-thousand-484 babies were born in April, or down nearly 13 percent from a year earlier. 

It marked the first time the figure slipped below 20-thousand for the month since the state agency began compiling related data in 1981.

The tally for newborns has seen an on-year decline for 89 straight months since December 2015, while the crude birth rate, which refers to the number of births per one-thousand people, reached four-point-four, also posting a new low for the month of April. 

Meanwhile, the number of deaths slipped nearly 25 percent on-year to stand at 27-thousand-581 as last April saw a sharp surge in deaths due to COVID-19. 

Despite the drop, the number of deaths outweighed the number of births to result in a population decline of nine-thousand-97 as the negative growth trend that began in November of 2019 continued.