Japan¡¯s birth rate ¡ª the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime ¡ª hit a new record low of 1.20 in 2023, health ministry data showed Wednesday.

The latest figure is 0.06 point down from the previous year in 2022 and the lowest since the government started keeping records in 1947, underlining the rapid pace at which its society is graying.

The birth rate, or total fertility rate, has been in decline for decades. The figure stood at 1.76 in 1985, then fell to 1.45 in 2015 and 1.33 in 2020 as more women choose to marry and start a family later in life.

The average age a woman gives birth to her first child was 31.0 in 2023; in 1975, the average age was 25.7.

All 47 prefectures in Japan saw a decline in birth rates, showing the trend is nationwide.

Tokyo scored the lowest, with 0.99, down from 1.04 in 2022, followed by Hokkaido at 1.06. Okinawa had the highest birth rate at 1.60, followed by Miyazaki and Nagasaki prefectures at 1.49, respectively.

The data also indicated that the overall population will continue to decline in the years to come.

The number of births hit a record low at 727,277, down 43,482 births from 2022. Marriages fell to 474,717, which is 30,213 fewer than 2022. The number of divorces rose to 183,808, or 4,709 more than in 2022.

Overall, the population fell by 848,659 people in 2023 ¡ª the number of births subtracted by the number of deaths ¡ª the largest decline ever recorded, the data said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a news conference Wednesday that the nation¡¯s depopulation trend was in a critical phase.

¡°The next six years before we reach the 2030s, when the number of young people declines, is our last chance to change the depopulation trend,¡± he said, adding that the government is working on measures including increasing income for the younger generations and support for households with young children.