South Korea's birth rate increases after 9 years - return of the lowest fertility?

South Korea's birth rate increases after 9 years - return of the lowest fertility?

Seoul, Reuters - the fertility rate in South Korea rose for the first time in nine years in 2024, supported by the increase in marriages, as preliminary data on Wednesday showed. This indicates that the may be changed has.

Current fertility rate and historical development

According to Statistics Korea, the fertility rate was 0.75 in 2024, which gives the average number of babies to give birth to a woman during her reproductive lifespan. In 2023, the birth rate fell to 0.72 for the eighth time in a row, the lowest value worldwide after it was still 1.24 in 2015. This development arouses concern about the economic effects for society that arises from this rapid pace.

measures to promote marriages and births

Since 2018, South Korea has been the only member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose fertility rate is below 1. To counteract this, South Korea took various measures to encourage young people, get married and get children. The now diseminated President Yoon Suk Yeol had proclaimed a “national demographic crisis” and presented a plan to create a new ministry to combat low birth rates.

social changes and influence on the birth rate

“There was a change in the social values, with a more positive view of marriage and birth,” said Park Hyun-Jung, an official of Statistics Korea, during a press conference. She also mentioned the influence of an increase in people in their early 30s and delays due to pandemic.

increasing marriages as an indicator of births

The number of marriages, a relevant indicator of new births, rose by 14.9%in 2024, the biggest plus since the beginning of the survey in 1970. In 2023 there was an increase in marriages by 1.0%for the first time in eleven years, which was favored by a retirement effect after the pandemy.

birth rate and population development in Seoul

In the Asian country there is a high correlation between marriages and births, whereby there is usually a delay of one or two years, since marriage is often regarded as a prerequisite for children. Last year, the capital Seoul with a birth rate of only 0.58 had the lowest value in the whole country.

long -term population forecasts

The latest data show that 120,000 more people died in the past year than new born, which marked the fifth year as a result of natural population. The city of Sejong was the only important center in which the population grew. The population of South Korea, which reached a maximum of 51.83 million in 2020, will shrink to 36.22 million according to the latest prognosis by 2072.