The average age at which Korean women give birth to their first child is continuing to rise as more and more women are waiting to marry or choosing to become celibate.
Statistics Korea says Korean women gave birth to their first child at the age of about 31 on average last year which is a point-1-8 increase compared to 2008.
The average age stood at 28.6-8 a decade ago and surpassed 30 in 2005.
Experts say that the upward trend is likely to continue and that the average age will exceed 31 this year which will directly affect the total number of births per year.
On the same note, the average number of babies born fell for two straight years last year to about 4-hundred-45-thousand putting the birthrate at 1.1-5.