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South Korea Sees Fastest Birth Rate Growth in 15 Years, Fertility Hits 0.8

South Korea experienced its fastest annual growth in childbirths in 15 years during 2025, with 254,500 babies born. The country's total fertility rate rose to 0.8, marking its first recovery of that threshold in four years. Government officials attribute the rebound to a post-pandemic surge in marriages and a growing population of women in their prime childbearing years. Despite the increase, deaths still outnumbered births, resulting in a natural population decline of 110,000.

Key Points: S. Korea Births Grow Fastest in 15 Years, Fertility Rate Rises

  • Births up 6.8% in 2025
  • Fertility rate recovers to 0.8
  • Increase in marriages post-pandemic
  • Social perception toward childbirth changing
  • Population still declined by 110,000
2 min read

Childbirths grow at fastest pace in 15 years in S. Korea

South Korea's births grew 6.8% in 2025, the fastest pace since 2010, with the total fertility rate recovering to 0.8 for the first time in four years.

"The number of marriages gained ground for 21 straight months... as couples who had delayed their marriages due to the COVID-19 pandemic tied the knot. - Park Hyun-jeong"

Seoul, Feb 25

The number of babies born in South Korea grew at the fastest pace in 15 years in 2025, with the country's total fertility rate rising to 0.8 for the first time in four years, government data showed on Wednesday.

A total of 254,500 babies were born last year, up 6.8 per cent, or 16,100, from 2024, according to the provisional data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The ministry will announce the final statistics in August, reports Yonhap news agency.

The 2025 tally marks the steepest on-year increase since 2010, and the second consecutive year of growth.

The total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, came to 0.8, up 0.05 from a year earlier, recovering the threshold for the first time in four years.

The ministry attributed the rebound in the number of newborns to an increase in marriages and the continued growth in the population of women in their early 30s, the prime childbearing age group, since 2021.

"The number of marriages gained ground for 21 straight months from April 2024 to December last year as couples who had delayed their marriages due to the COVID-19 pandemic tied the knot," Park Hyun-jeong, a ministry official, explained.

Park also said there was a notable change in social perception toward childbirth, with the ministry's latest biennial survey in 2024 showing an increase in people with intention to have children after marriage from two years earlier.

The proportion of people who are willing to give birth outside of marriage also went up, she added.

In terms of the total fertility rate, Park projected the figure to stay above the 0.8 level this year and further rise to the 1 mark in 2031.

Data also showed that the number of deaths added 1.3 per cent on-year to 363,400 in 2025, resulting in a natural population decline of 110,000.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

A
Arjun K
Good news for them! The pandemic delayed so many life plans everywhere. Maybe their government policies to encourage childbirth are starting to work. Hope they can sustain this. 🇰🇷
R
Rohit P
A fertility rate of 0.8 is still a crisis, let's be honest. The article says they hope to reach 1.0 by 2031? That's six years away! The economic pressure on young people must be immense. In our metros, many couples are also delaying children due to career and cost.
S
Sarah B
The most positive part is the change in social perception they mention. When society stops pressuring and starts supporting, people feel more confident about having children. This is a lesson for all developed nations facing similar issues.
V
Vikram M
They mention deaths still outnumber births by 110,000. So the population is still shrinking, just a bit slower. It's a long road back. Makes you appreciate the youthful energy we have here, even with its own set of challenges.
M
Meera T
Interesting that more people are willing to have children outside of marriage there. Shows how societal norms are evolving. Hope the increase continues for them! Every child is a blessing. 👶

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