South Korea has recorded its highest birth rate growth for the January–May period since national data collection began in 1981, offering a rare demographic boost for a country grappling with one of the world’s lowest fertility rates.
According to Statistics Korea, the number of newborns reached 106,048 during the first five months of 2025, a 6.9% increase compared to the same period last year. This marks a sharp turnaround from early 2024, when births had declined by 2.7% year-on-year.
“The increase is mainly attributable to a rise in the number of women in their early 30s, which has led to a significant uptick in marriages,” said Kang Hyun-young, a spokesperson for Statistics Korea, in an interview with AFP. “In South Korea, there is a strong correlation between marriage and childbirth.”
Indeed, 2024 saw a 14.8% rise in marriages, with over 220,000 couples tying the knot — a trend that appears to be fueling the increase in births. April alone recorded a year-on-year birth growth of 8.7%, with 20,717 births.
The recent surge follows South Korea’s first annual increase in births in more than a decade, with 238,300 babies born in 2024, a 3.6% rise from the year before.
Despite the promising numbers, the country’s fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, remains critically low. As of May, it stood at 0.75, far below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to sustain the current population of 51 million. If trends persist, the population could shrink to 26.8 million by 2100, according to projections by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
The South Korean government has invested billions in pro-natalist policies, including cash incentives, subsidized childcare, and infertility treatment. However, social pressures, high living and housing costs, and the double burden faced by working mothers continue to deter many couples from starting families.
Analysts warn that unless deeper structural issues, including gender inequality and job insecurity, are addressed, sustaining this momentum will be difficult. South Korea’s demographic challenges are mirrored by neighboring Japan, which also faces a rapidly aging population and low birth rates.
Written By Rodney Mbua
