Childbirths in S. Korea rise for first time in 19 months

Seoul, June 26 – The number of babies born in South Korea marked on-year growth for the first time in 19 months in April, data showed on Wednesday, as the country is struggling to boost its ultra-low birth rate.

According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, a total of 19,049 babies were born in April 2024, up 2.8 per cent from a year earlier, Yonhap news agency reported.

It was the first time since September 2022 that the figure logged on-year growth.

“The growth came as the number of newly married couples rose over the past couple of years after the Covid-19 pandemic, though it remains to be seen if such an uptrend could continue,” an agency official said.

The rebound was also partly attributable to a high base effect, as the number of newborns hit an all-time low of 18,528 in April 2023, falling 12.5 per cent on-year.

During the first four months of 2024, however, the number of newborns reached a record low of 79,523.

The total fertility rate, which means the average number of expected births from a woman in her lifetime, also hit a record yearly low of 0.72, which came far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

In the first quarter of 2024, the fertility rate came to 0.76, falling 0.06 on-year.

The number of deaths rose 4 per cent on-year to 28,659 in April 2024, and the population, accordingly, declined by 9,610.

Deaths outpaced that of newborns since November 2019.

The number of couples getting married surged 24.6 per cent on-year to 18,039 in April, following a 5.5 per cent fall the previous month.

The number of couples getting divorced went up 5.7 per cent on-year to 7,701, the data showed.

South Korea is experiencing grim demographic changes, as many young people opt to postpone or give up on getting married or having babies in line with changing social norms and lifestyles.

Many have also pointed to high home prices and a tough job market as major reasons.

South Korea is expected to be a highly aged country by 2072 as the median age will increase from 44.9 in 2022 to 63.4 in 2072, and the population will tumble to around 36.22 million in 2072 from last year’s 51 million.