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| New moms in Korea are increasingly in their 30s, a new study shows. Gettyimagesbank |
By Do Je-hae
The number of women in Korea who give birth for the first time in their 20s has decreased significantly over the last three decades, according to the latest government data.
According to Statistics Korea, 62,200 babies were born to moms in their 20s in 2020, accounting for 22.1 percent of a total 272,400 births. In 1990, 524,411 babies were born from mothers in their 20s, accounting for 80.7 percent of the total. In 2000, the figure stood at 63.2 percent, or 404,592.
On the other hand, the number of babies born to mothers in their 30s is on the rise. Last year, 197,300 babies were born to women in their 30s, or 72.4 percent of all births. This is also in in stark contrast to 1990 when only two out of 10 were in their 30s.
The survey showed that the average age of women giving birth is also on the rise.
Last year, the average age of women giving birth was 33.1 years. The average age was about 27 or 28 in the 1990s and surpassed 30 for the first time in 2005 when it rose to 30.2 years.
"The rise in the age of women giving birth is due to a delay in marriages. The average age of first marriage for a woman rose from 24.8 in 1990 to 30.6 in 2019," an official at Statistics Korea said.
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