Births in South Korea surge 15% in first half of 2026

South Korea recorded its highest annual rise in births during the first half of 2026, a 15% increase compared to the previous year. June alone saw a record 23,111 newborns, the largest monthly total since June 2019. The surge in births is largely attributed to a growing number of women in their early 30s, the primary age for marriage and childbirth.

The total fertility rate, representing the average number of children per woman, climbed to 0.88 in June, up by 0.11 from a year earlier. The overall birth rate for women aged 30 to 34 saw a notable 12.4% increase, while rates for women aged 35 to 39 and 40 and above rose by 9.1% and 0.3%, respectively. The upward trend in births has now persisted for 24 consecutive months since July 2024.

Park Hyeon-jeong, the head of the vital statistics division at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, noted factors such as rising marriage rates post-pandemic, an increasing population of women in their 30s, and positive shifts in attitudes toward marriage and childbirth as contributing to the birth rate increase.