South Korea sees fastest rise in births in 18 years amid marriage surge

South Korea has reported its fastest increase in births in 18 years, driven largely by an increase in marriages last year, according to data released by the Statistics Ministry on Wednesday.

The data showed that 233,708 babies were born in January-November 2025, a 6.2% increase from the same period a year earlier and the strongest year-on-year rise since 2007, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Authorities expect the full-year total to exceed 238,000 births, marking a second consecutive annual increase.

Births in November alone reached 20,710, up 3.1% from a year earlier and the highest November figure since 2019.

The upward trend in newborns has continued since mid-2024.

The country's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, edged up to 0.79 in November, slightly higher than a year earlier.

Officials attributed the recent rise in births to a sustained increase in marriages, expanded government support for childbirth, and growth in the number of women in their early 30s.

Marriages in November rose 2.7% to 19,079 from a year earlier, marking the 20th consecutive month of growth, while divorces fell to 9.8%.

Despite the rebound in births, South Korea continued to record a natural population decline, as deaths went up to 4.9% from the year earlier to 30,678, resulting in a natural population decline of 9,968, according to the report.

South Korean demographic experts warn that the prolonged decline in fertility could cause the country's population to shrink by half over the next 60 years.