Joo Hyung-hwan, vice chairman of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, speaks during a press briefing at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
The number of babies born in Korea last year increased for the first time in nearly a decade, data showed, Wednesday. The government views the upward trend as having been supported by a rise in marriages and many policies implemented to help parents with young children.
A total of 238,300 babies were born in 2024, an increase of 8,300 from the previous year's record low of 230,000, according to Statistics Korea. The figure rebounded after falling persistently since 2015, when it stood at 438,400.
Along with the rising births, Korea's total fertility rate — the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — climbed to 0.75 from 0.72.
Speaking at a press briefing, Joo Hyung-hwan, vice chairman of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, said he “cautiously” forecasts that the upward trend will continue this year to reach 0.79.
“This rebound is an important step in reversing the long-standing trend of the country's low birthrates, which suggests that government policies began to have an effect and increasingly resonate with the public,” Joo said at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.
The total fertility rate during the fourth quarter of 2024 was 0.75, a significant jump from 0.66 during the same period in 2023.
“This figure is particularly encouraging because the birthrate tends to be the lowest during the fourth quarter of each year. But it was a similar level [to the quarterly average] last year,” Joo said.
In another positive sign, marriages jumped 14.9 percent in 2024, the biggest spike since data collecting began in 1970.
“Given that marriages are a leading indicator of future births, it is very encouraging,” Joo said.
“The increased births may have been affected by delayed marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic ... But we believe substantive changes in people's perceptions on marriage and childbirth have been the main causes.”
The country has long struggled with a declining birthrate, as young people shun marriage or parenthood over the surging cost of housing and child-rearing.
To reverse the trend, the government rolled out various measures to encourage people to get married and have children. Now-suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a national emergency over the birthrate crisis, calling for emergency-like responses, with the objective of helping raise the total fertility rate to 1 by 2030.
The latest figure exceeded the government's earlier prediction of 0.74, but still remains the lowest in the world. Among 38 member states of the OECD, Korea is the only one with a rate below 1.
Joo said the next five years will be a critical period as the number of women of childbearing age and the population in their 30s are projected to decrease from 2027.
“It is immensely important to establish effective policies during this period,” he said. “We will push measures more aggressively to help accelerate the upward trend.”
He said the government will continue to improve the policies proven effective, including the expansion of caregiving services and of direct financial help as well as support for working parents who are juggling child care responsibilities with careers.
One of the areas the government aims to focus on is to help project positive images of multi-child families and fathers' active involvement in child-rearing, Joo added.
As part of the effort to further boost the birthrate and lessen the financial burden on future generations, he also suggested that the government may have to raise the legal age for retirement and develop the policy idea of inviting foreign caregivers to help working parents.