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Korea sees first Q1 birth uptick in a decade, boosted by rising marriages

Published: 28 May. 2025, 16:50 Updated: 28 May. 2025, 17:02

A nurse takes care of an infant at a hospital in Michuhol District, Incheon, on Dec. 26, 2024. [NEWS1]

For the first time in a decade, Korea recorded a year-on-year increase in newborns during the first quarter of the year — a rare uptick in a country battling chronically low birthrates.

According to data released Wednesday by Statistics Korea, 21,041 babies were born in March, up 1,347 or 6.8 percent from the same month last year. Monthly births have also increased for nine consecutive months since July 2024.

This marks the first March year-on-year increase since 2015, and the largest March growth rate since 1993, when births rose by 8.9 percent.

However, with deaths still outpacing births, Korea's population naturally declined by over 35,000 during that period.

A total of 65,022 babies were born in the first quarter, up 4,455 or 7.4 percent from the same period a year earlier. This is the highest first-quarter figure since 2022, when 68,339 babies were born, and marks the first year-on-year increase in a decade, since the 1.7 percent rise recorded in the first quarter of 2015. The 7.4 percent increase is the largest since 1981.

As a result, the fertility rate saw a modest rebound. The total fertility rate — the expected number of children a woman will have in her lifetime — rose to 0.82 in the first quarter, up 0.05 from 0.77 in the same period last year.

“A closer look at the third decimal place shows the total fertility rate for the first quarter is slightly higher than in 2023 but lower than in 2022,” said a Statistics Korea official. “We must wait and see whether this trend can be maintained.”

A family with a child walks in the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on January 2024 [YONHAP]

Marriages, which is linked to the birthrate, have also been increasing for 12 consecutive months.

Statistics Korea explained that the increase in births reflects a clear rise in marriages since the Covid-19 pandemic transitioned into an endemic phase. Since married couples account for the vast majority of births in Korea, more marriages typically lead to more births.

According to the data, there were 19,181 marriages in March, an increase of 1,983 or 11.5 percent compared to the same month last year. The number of monthly marriages has been rising for 12 consecutive months since April last year, the longest upward streak since records began. Total marriages in the first quarter reached 58,704, the highest in six years since 2019.

Analysts attribute the increase in marriages to members of the "echo boom" generation — children of the second baby boomers born between 1964 and 1974 — entering their early 30s, a prime age for marriage.

With the number of marriages steadily increasing since 2023, births are expected to continue rising for the time being. “A more positive perception of marriage and government policies encouraging it also seem to be contributing factors,” a Statistics Korea official said.

The number of deaths in the first quarter rose by 7,529 or 8.1 percent to 100,896. Because the number of deaths exceeded births, the population declined naturally by 35,874 in the first quarter.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG WON-SEOK [[email protected]]