The number of babies born in South Korea increased for the seventh consecutive month in January, showed data on Wednesday, in a positive sign for a country struggling with a demographic crisis.
A total of 23,947 babies were born in January, up 11.6 per cent from the 21,461 newborns a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.
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The figure has been on an upward trend since July 2024, and the latest reading marks the steepest on-year increase for any January since the agency began compiling related data in 1981.
It also marks the first time since 2015 that the number of births has risen in January.
“The population of people in their early 30s, a key childbearing age group, has increased,” said Kang Hyun-young, an agency official. She also attributed the rise in childbirth to more positive perceptions of marriage and parenthood among the younger population in recent years.
The increase is also attributed to the base effect, as the figure for January 2024 had marked the lowest on-year increase.
South Korea has been grappling with a persistent decline in its birth rate, as an increasing number of young people choose to delay or avoid marriage and parenthood. To encourage marriage and improve the fertility rate, the government has introduced various marriage benefits and childcare support programmes.
In a positive sign, the number of babies born in South Korea increased for the first time in nine years in 2024, driven by a post-pandemic rise in marriages, evolving attitudes toward parenthood and demographic changes.
The number of deaths, meanwhile, jumped 21.9 per cent on-year to 39,473 in January, also marking the steepest on-year increase for any January.
The agency attributed the sharp rise to the country’s ageing population, compounded by severe winter conditions, including a cold wave and heavy snowfall, which led to a surge in elderly deaths.
Accordingly, South Korea reported a natural population decrease of 15,526 in the month.
The number of deaths has continued to exceed the number of newborns since the fourth quarter of 2019.
The report also showed that the number of couples getting married inched up 0.7 per cent on-year to 20,153 in January.
The number of couples getting divorced decreased 12.8 per cent on-year to 6,922, according to the data.
