S.Korea's population growth rate falls to among lowest in Asia: report

South Korea's population growth rate was one of the lowest among Asian countries in 2009, mainly driven by the country's low birth rate, a report by the Asian Development Bank showed.

Seoul's Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Thursday, citing the report, said that South Korea's population increase rate stood at a mere 0.3 percent, ranking 43rd along with Armenia and the Marshall Islands among 48 Asian countries.

The Cook Islands in New Zealand ranked first at 3.6 percent.

The ministry said Georgia, Micronesia and Japan were the only countries with lower population growth rates than South Korea, with 0.1 percent, 0 percent and -0.1 percent, respectively.

The ministry said that for a country's population to maintain " normal" levels, growth rate should stay around 1 percent.

The low birth rate, considered to be the main reason for the declining population, has been a pressing issue in South Korea. Its birth rate, the average number of babies born during a woman's lifetime, decreased to 1.15 last year from 1.19 in 2008. The average for member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) currently stands at 1.64.

Menawhile, the ministry said the low birth rate and corresponding drop in population growth were a source of concern because they could adversely affect the country's growth potential and fuel social costs associated with greater medical outlays for senior citizens.

Source: Xinhua