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3d ago

South Korea Records Fastest Birth Growth in 34 Years

A surge in marriages delayed by pandemic wedding postponements propelled April births to their highest growth since 1991.

Schoolchildren practice the violin in a classroom at Son Shin Elementary School in Seoul, South Korea.
A baby fair in Seoul (Yonhap)
Image
An infant in a stroller in the line at a polling station during the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. South Koreans head to the polls Tuesday to elect a new president after an attempt to impose martial law at the end of last year triggered its worst constitutional crisis in decades. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Overview

  • Statistics Korea reports 20,717 babies born in April, marking an 8.7% increase from a year earlier and the steepest rise since April 1991.
  • Weddings climbed for the 13th straight month as marriages rose 4.9% in April to 18,921 registered unions.
  • The nation’s total fertility rate ticked up by 0.06 to 0.79 in April but remains far below the 2.1 replacement level.
  • Officials link the birth increase to a growing cohort of women in their early 30s and government pro-natal measures including marriage grants and childcare subsidies.
  • Despite the recent gains, South Korea continues to face an ultralow fertility crisis with one of the smallest youth populations among countries over 40 million people.