According to Statistics Korea, the number of newborns in South Korea dropped to a new record low last year.

The number of babies born in 2017 reached 357,700, down 11.9 percent, or 48,500, from 2016.

The figure marked the lowest number of newborns since the statistics agency started to compile such data in 1970.

The total fertility rate, or the number of babies that a woman is projected to have during her lifetime, fell to 1.05 last year from 1.17, also marking a record low, the report showed.