The number of children aged 14 or younger in Japan was estimated at 17.25 million as of April 1, marking a record low for the 27th straight year, the government said May 4.

Children made up 13.5 percent of the total population, giving Japan the lowest percentage of children among the world's major countries. Their proportion to the total population was down from 13.6 percent last year, registering a drop for the 34th year in a row, the government said in its annual report ahead of Children's Day on May 5.

The ratio of children in the population stood at 35.4 percent in 1950 — immediately after the first postwar baby boom — but has since steadily declined, except for a second baby boom between 1971 and 1974.