South Korea: Fertility and birth rates to rise in 2024, after years of decline

South Korea's fertility and birth rates rose in 2024 for the first time after years of decline, according to data released Wednesday by the South Korean government's statistics agency. In 2024, the fertility rate in South Korea was 0.75 children per woman, up 0.03 percentage points from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. The rate had been declining for nearly a decade, but it is still far from the 2.1 needed to keep South Korea's population at its current level.

The number of newborns in South Korea in 2024 stood at 238,300. It had reached its lowest level in 2023 since statistics on the subject were first recorded in 1970. "The number of births in 2024 was 238,300, an increase of 8,300 (3.6 percent) from the previous year," South Korea's official statistics agency said in a report. In 2024, the crude birth rate, or the number of newborns per 1,000 people, was 4.7 compared to 4.5 in 2023, the same source said.

South Korea's fertility rate is the lowest among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Seoul has spent large sums to try to encourage births, through allowances, childcare services and assistance with infertility treatments, to no avail.