S. Korea sees biggest Y/Y jump in births in 18 years in September

3분기까지 태어난 아기 19만명 넘어… 증가폭 18년 만에 최대

South Korea may be clearing its name as a country with the world's lowest birth rate.
The number of newborns in the month of September came to the biggest year-on-year jump in 18 years.
Our Kim Bo-kyoung has more.

The number of babies born between January and September surpassed 190-thousand this year, marking the largest year-on-year increase in 18 years.
That’s according to a report released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

A total of 22-thousand-3-hundred-69 babies were born in September, an increase of more than eight percent – or 1-thousand-780 – compared to the same month last year.
Births have been rising for 15 consecutive months since July last year, and September’s figure is the highest for any September since 2020, when 23-thousand-499 babies were born.
A total of 191-thousand-40 babies were born from January to September this year, up 12-thousand-488 from the same period last year, marking the largest year-on-year increase in 18 years, since 2007.
Based on the continued rise in births and marriages since the second half of last year, the number of total births this year is expected to exceed last year's total of 238-thousand-317.
The uptick in births was driven largely by women in their 30s.
The ministry said age-specific fertility rates increased across all age groups except those in their late 20s, with the rate rising by 2-point-4 among women in their early 30s and by more than 5 among those in their late 30s.
The total fertility rate — the expected average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime — was 0-point-8-5 in September, up 0-point-0-6 from the same month last year.
The increase in births can also be attributed to a rise in marriages.
The number of marriages in September jumped more than 20 percent on-year to 18-thousand-462, and has been rising for 18 consecutive months since April last year.
Both the increase in numbers and the growth rate were the highest ever recorded for any September.
But although marriages and births are increasing, one expert says there is still room for improvement.

"But even if the fertility rate goes up, it'll still be relatively low. It'll only be around 0.8. And if you want to maintain a stable population, the fertility rate has to be around 2.1. So even though the improvement in the fertility rate is good news, it's still less than half of what we really need."

Though more people in their early 30s are getting married and having children, experts say more needs to be done to keep this trend going.
Kim Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.

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2025-11-26, 20:00 (KST)