[alpaccount]

125 years? So has it ever been lower or it wasn't tracked?

[ltadeut]

if you bothered to read past the title:

> The 2024 figure is a 5 per cent drop from the previous year and the lowest since records began during Japan’s Meiji era in 1899.

[nathanaldensr]

We'd love to read past the title, but sadly FT is paywalled.

[defrost]

Is it?

Article shows up fine for myself. Maybe because my browser scrubs cookies and always looks like a first time site visitor, maybe not locked for Australasian IP's. Dunno - never had an issue reading the FT though.

All the same - https://archive.md/yBCh0

[Izkata]

Probably an IP thing then, all I see after the header is "Subscribe to unlock this article" and various rates/durations.

[dsq]

Yes, FT is paywalled by default.

[The_Colonel]

It's total births, not birth rate. 125 years ago, the population was smaller, but the birth rate higher.