South Korea Sees First Big Rise in Birth Rate in Over a Decade

South Korea has recorded a major rise in its birth rate during the first five months of 2025, the highest increase since it began keeping records in 1981.

Between January and May, 106,048 babies were born—a 6.9% increase compared to the same time last year. In April alone, there were more than 20,700 births. This is an 8.7% increase compared to April 2024.

This is a big shift for South Korea, which for some time faced one of the lowest birth rates in the world and a growing population crisis. In 2024 there were 400,000 births which represented a 1.4% increase from the prior year. However, the fertility rate had decreased still further. In May, it was just 0.75 children per woman—far below the 2.1 needed to keep the population steady. By 2100, South Korea's population may have decreased from 51 million to 26.8 million if the current trend continues.

Officials believe the recent increase is mostly due to more women under 30 getting married. In 2024, marriages went up by nearly 15%, with over 220,000 couples tying the knot.

However, many government benefits, such as cash aid and childcare services, are only available to legally married couples. Such a restriction, it is thought by the experts, may stand against any more progress.Even with government subsidies, these couples still abstain from bearing children due to high living costs and pressure at work. It is especially hard for working mothers to balance work and parenting. Japan, South Korea's neighbor, is undergoing much the same problem. Having one of the aged populations of the world and low immigration, Japan is undergoing fewer births and shrinkage of its workforce.The South Korean government says it will continue working on policies to help families and encourage more people to have children.