on a steady trajectory in South Korea, the nation's population may soon enter recovery mode. birthrate rose slightly last year to 4.7 babies born per 1000 women in 2024, according to statistics shared by the government today.The country's fertility rate – the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime – also climbed to 0.75 from 0.73 the year before.
The birthrate in South Korea has risen slightly for the first time in nine years. (Getty)It marks the first time the number has jumped instead of plummeting since 2015, when it stood at 1.4.Park Hyun-jung, an official from Statistics Korea, said in a briefing the birthrate growth was thanks in part to an increase in marriages following the COVID-19 pandemic."There was a change in social value, with more positive views about marriage and childbirth," he said.The 10 fastest shrinking countries in the world View GalleryMarriages jumped by 14.9 per cent in 2024. This is the largest increase in South Korea since it began releasing data in 1970.In South Korea, unlike many other countries, marriage is still seen socially as necessary before having children.It's welcome news likely to be celebrated by government officials who have long grappled over how to encourage South Korean couples to have babies.The Yoon administration provided funding for housing and childcare to encourage South Korean women to have children.
Government officials have struggled to encourage South Korean couples to have babies. (Getty)One local government in Busan, about 320km south of the capital Seoul, is even offering locals cold hard cash in the hopes of sparking more marriages – and hopefully, more births.The statistics are still grim; South Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Seoul is the worst in the country, with the birthrate plunging to 0.58.Fertility rates are also sitting below 1.3 in Taiwan, Singapore and Ukraine.
A projection of the country's overall population in 2050. (ceicdata.com)Comparatively, Australia recorded a birth rate at 1.6 births per woman in 2023.There were 120,000 more deaths than births in 2024 in South Korea, making it the fifth year of a shrinking population.It has had a devastating impact on the east Asian nation's population, which was last year described by President Yoon Suk Yeol as a "national emergency".South Korea needs a fertility rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable population without immigration.