South Korea, long troubled by one of the world's lowest birth rates, is seeing that trend continue to reverse. The number of babies born last year rose at the fastest pace in 18 years, returning to the 250,000 range. The total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime — also rose for a second straight year, climbing past 0.8. As the average age of childbearing rises, fertility rates among women in their late 30s and early 40s hit record highs.
A total of 254,300 babies were born last year, up 16,000, or 6.7%, from a year earlier, according to the 2025 birth statistics released by the National Data Office on the 26th. The increase was the largest in 15 years, since 2010, when births rose by 25,322. The growth rate was the fourth highest since the data series began in 1981 and the highest in 18 years, since 2007, when births rose 10.0%.
Annual births had fallen for eight consecutive years from 2015, when 438,400 babies were born, dropping to 230,000 in 2023. Births rebounded in 2024 to 238,300 and have now recovered to the 250,000 range.
Analysts point to several factors behind the rebound. Marriages increased sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic ended, and births are believed to have followed with a lag. Improved attitudes toward marriage and childbearing, helped by various government support measures, is cited as another reason.
Fertility Rates Rise Sharply Among Women in Their 30s
Age-specific fertility rates — births per 1,000 women in each age group — rose across all age brackets except teenagers, with the sharpest gains among women in their 30s. The rate for women aged 35 to 39 reached 52.1, up 6.0 from a year earlier and the highest on record. For women aged 30 to 34, the rate rose 2.8 to 73.1.
The rate for women aged 25 to 29 rose 0.5 to 21.2, the first increase since 2007. Among women in their 40s, the rate for those aged 40 to 44 rose 0.8 to 8.5, while the rate for those aged 45 to 49 rose 0.1 to 0.3. The rate for women in their early 40s was also a record high, and the rate for those in their late 40s was the highest since 1988.
"Marriages recovered after the shift to a post-pandemic phase in May 2023, and the population of women in their 30s increased," said Park Hyun-jung, head of the population trends division at the National Data Office. "We believe a positive shift in attitudes toward childbearing also played a combined role."
The total fertility rate stood at 0.8, up 0.05 from 0.75 a year earlier. The rate bottomed out at 0.72 in 2023 and has risen for two straight years.
Still, South Korea's total fertility rate remains the lowest among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It is the only OECD country where the rate is below 1. The OECD average was 1.40 as of 2024. Even the lowest-ranking countries — Poland at 1.10, Spain at 1.10, Chile at 1.14 and Japan at 1.15 — remain far above South Korea.
Factors That Could Halt the Rebound
While the recovery in births may continue for some time, structural factors could limit how long it lasts. According to a report titled "Demographic Factors Behind the Recent Rebound in Births and Policy Implications," published in June in the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs' Health and Welfare Issue & Focus, the temporary increase in the population of women in their 30s — the main childbearing age group — is expected to hold through 2030. But the report said an absolute decline in the population of women aged 15 to 49, delays in the ages of marriage and childbirth, and a rising share of married couples without children could all work against a sustained rebound.
"The recent rebound in births and in the total fertility rate is a meaningful change, but determining whether it represents a structural turnaround will require several more years of continued observation and tracking," said Lee Ji-hye, an associate research fellow at the institute's Center for Population Policy Research. "To keep the recent effects of the age structure of the population in their 30s and of changes in age-specific fertility rates working in a positive direction, we need to continue improving the structural conditions that make marriage and childbirth possible — housing and job security for young adults, work-family balance, and support for care and child-rearing."
