Childbirths in South Korea rebound for 1st time in 2024

Some of the first babies to be born in the new year are held by their parents at a hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. (Yonhap via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)

South Korea in 2024 saw 242,334 babies born, marking the first increase in the annual figure since 2015, as the country struggles to improve its plummeting birth rate that is among the worst in the world.

The official figure for childbirths rose by 7,295 from 235,039 in 2023, a 3.1 percent increase, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The country also saw 360,757 deaths in the year, resulting in the overall population shrinking for a fifth straight year since 2020.

South Korea’s population stands at 51,217,22, according to the latest tally by the ministry.

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Despite the ongoing population decrease, the annual increase in childbirths sparks hopes for a turnaround in the country’s total fertility rate, referring to the total number of births a woman is expected to give in her lifetime. The total fertility rate for Korea has been trending downwards since marking 1.48 in 2000, dipping below the 1 for the first the first time in 2018 and marking a record low 0.72 in 2023.

Sluggish birth rate

The government has been rolling out series of measures in a bid to battle the sluggish birth rate, ranging from expanding financial incentives for childbirths and state-run child care services to more benefits for parents with multiple children.

READ: S. Korea pushes for better work-life balance to ease falling birth rate

One of the new policies implemented this year is an increase to the upper limit on parental leave payments to 2.5 million won ($1,700) a month, up from the previous 1.5 million.

While the rebound in childbirths offers a glimpse of hope in terms of the population decline, the country continued to get older. The average age for Koreans in 2024 was 45.3 years old, up from average age of 44.8 the previous year.

READ: South Korea now a ‘super-aged society’ amid shrinking, aging population

Some 17 percent of Koreans were in their 50s, followed by 15.37 percent in their 60s, 15.08 percent in their 40s, 12.94 percent in their 70s, 12.93 percent in their 30s, 11.63 percent in their 20s, 9.02 percent aged 10-19 and 6.13 percent aged under 10.

Superaged society

The government last month said the country has formally become a superaged society, which the United Nations defines as a country where more than 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. As of December, the percentage of senior citizens in the country marked exactly 20 percent.

The average age of Koreans has been climbing rapidly for years, surpassing 40 years old in 2014. According to a Statistics Korea report in October, the average for Koreans is expected to pass 50 in 2035 and 55 in 2049.