South Korea's birthrate is second lowest in the world. According to the State of the World Population 2007 report released by the Planned Population Federation of Korea on Wednesday, South Korean women aged between 15 and 49 give birth to an average of 1.2 children.

Hong Kong's birthrate is lowest, averaging 0.96 among 156 countries researched by the United Nations Population Fund.

Last year, South Korea's birthrate ranked fourth lowest. This year, our average is less than half of the global average, 2.54. It is also lower than that of developed countries, which average 1.6. North Korea's birthrate was 1.85, ranking 47th lowest.

The population of South Korea, now the world's 26th most populous country, is 48.4 million, 0.3 million up from last year. Last year, South Korea was the world's 25th populous country.

The Planned Population Federation of Korea explained that women worldwide are giving birth to an increasing number of babies these days. It added that population growth is caused by the rising birthrate, as well as prolonged life expectancy.

The average life expectancy for South Korean men and women is 75.1 years and 82.3 years respectively, ranking 29th and 16th in the world, one and two ranks up from the previous year. North Korea's life span for men and women was 65.1 and 69.3, respectively, ranking 90th and 98th in the world, showing little difference from the worldwide average of 65.1 and 69.6. Men in Hong Kong live longest, at 79.5 years while Japanese women live longest, at 86.2 years.