Births up 15.6 pct in June, extend gains for 24th month

In June, the number of births in South Korea surged by 15.6 percent compared to the previous year, signaling the 24th consecutive month of growth, according to official government data released on Wednesday. The Ministry of Data and Statistics reported that a total of 23,111 babies were born in June, a significant increase of 3,115 from the 19,996 births recorded a year earlier.

This growth rate marked the highest since the government commenced tracking this information in 1981, and the absolute increase was the largest since 1992, when births rose by 3,666.

The overall total fertility rate, which represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have throughout her lifetime, also rose marginally to 0.88 in June, up 0.11 points from the previous year. Despite this slight increase, the fertility rate remains below the critical threshold of 2.1 births per woman necessary to sustain a stable population without relying on immigration.

The upward trend in births has persisted since July 2024, a period marked by a rising number of marriages and a growing acceptance of parenthood. Experts point to a combination of these factors as the primary drivers behind the recent increase in births. The surge in the number of marriages has been steadily recovering since May 2023, following the termination of a previous period of decline.