S.Korea's childbirth keeps falling for 51 months

South Korea's childbirth kept falling for 51 straight months to February, fueling worry about a so-called demographic cliff, statistical office data showed Tuesday.

The number of newborn babies was 22,854 in February, down 11.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. On a yearly basis, the childbirth continued to slide since December 2015.

The lower newborns came amid the rising social trend of delayed marriage and the falling number of women who are of childbearing age.

The number of marriages gained 5.0 percent from a year earlier to 19,104 in February, but it was attributed to an increased number of working days in the month.

The number of divorces added 0.3 percent to 8,232 in the month.

The continued fall in childbirth stoked concerns about the demographic cliff, which refers to a sudden drop in the heads of household eventually leading to a consumption cliff.

The low birth rate has been a headache for the economy as it leads to the lower workforce amid the rapidly-aging population, which could drag down the country's growth potential.

The number of deaths soared 10.9 percent over the year to 25,419 in February, marking the biggest February figure since data began to be compiled in 1983.

Because of the reduced childbirth and the increased death, the country's population slipped for the fourth straight month.