The number of babies born in South Korea rose by 18% in April compared to the previous year, hitting the highest level in seven years, as per data from South Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics. In April, a total of 24,521 babies were born, up from 20,787 in the same month a year earlier, marking the highest figure since 2019 with 26,104 births.
Over the January-April period, the total number of births in South Korea reached 99,534, also the highest in seven years, showing a significant 15.5% increase from the previous year. The country’s total fertility rate, which indicates the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, increased by 0.13 to 0.93 in April compared to the previous year.
The recent growth in the number of newborns in South Korea has been attributed to a rise in marriages and a more positive attitude towards childbirth. However, the total fertility rate of 0.93 in April remains below the 2.1 births per woman needed to sustain a stable population without immigration.
The number of marriages in April also saw a rise of 9% from the previous year, reaching 20,622, the highest figure since 2016 when 22,844 marriages were recorded. Conversely, the number of divorces increased by 7.3% from the previous year to 7,829. Data indicated a 1.3% decrease in the number of deaths from the previous year to 28,405, resulting in a natural population decline of 3,884.
