TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Just 9,617 babies were born in Taiwan last month, down 3,520 from the previous month’s 13,137 births, according to statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior.

This marks the first time the number of births has not reached 10,000 since January of last year, CNA reported. Meanwhile, a total of 14,887 people across the country died in February.

This leaves the country’s population at 23,319,776 — a decrease of nearly 30,000 since January. Aside from last month’s deaths, the drop can be explained by a higher number of people leaving Taiwan than immigrating to it.