TOKYO, Feb 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Births in Japan hit another record low in 2024, falling for the ninth-straight year as young people delay marriage while the elderly population rises, government data showed Thursday.

The numbers highlight the dramatic demographic challenges facing the world's fourth-biggest economy, where a shrinking workforce is having to shoulder the costs of caring for a ballooning elderly population.

In 2024, 720,988 babies were born in Japan, including to foreign nationals, down five percent from 758,631 in 2023, according to preliminary health ministry data.

The number of births shrank to the lowest since government started tracking the data in 1899.

Deaths were more than double the number of births, rising 1.8 percent from 2023 to 1.62 million.

Japan's overall population this month hit 123.54 million, down 0.46 percent from a year ago, data from the internal affairs ministry last week showed.

The birth data drew a sharp comparison with South Korea.

There, data on Wednesday showed that the number of babies born per 1,000 people rose in 2024, the first time in more than a decade.

Japan's births peaked at 2.1 million in 1973.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said tackling the population crisis is among his top priorities.

But the high cost of education, stagnant economy and changing lifestyle have discouraged young people from starting families.