Seoul:The number of babies born in South Korea jumped by 13 percent in August compared to the same month last year, marking the 26th consecutive month of increase, as per government data revealed on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 23,703 babies were born in August, up from 20,983 a year earlier. This figure represents the highest number of births for any August since 2019, when 24,371 births were recorded, as reported by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The country's total fertility rate, which indicates the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, increased by 0.09 from the previous year to 0.87 in August. Despite the rise, the rate remains below the 2.1 births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration. The upward trend in births has been ongoing since July 2024.
During the period from January to August, 193,783 babies were born, marking a 14.5 percent increase from the previous year. This also represents the highest figure for this timeframe since 2019. The recent increase in births coincides with a growing number of marriages, a rise in the population of people in their 30s, and more positive attitudes towards having children.
However, the number of marriages in August saw a slight decline of 1.2 percent from the previous year, totaling 19,218. Conversely, divorces increased by 4.4 percent to 7,510. Additionally, the number of deaths rose by 4.9 percent from a year earlier to 30,308, resulting in a natural population decline of 6,605, According to latest findings.