South Korea Sees Largest Surge in Births in 14 Years This October

Seoul, Dec 26 (NationPress) The number of newborns in South Korea rose at the quickest pace in 14 years during October, according to data released on Thursday. This comes as the country faces serious demographic issues due to its extremely low birth rate and a rapidly aging population.

Statistics Korea reported that a total of 21,398 infants were born in October, marking a 13.4 percent increase from the 18,878 births recorded a year prior, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

This represents the largest year-on-year growth since November 2010, when the number of births increased by 17.5 percent.

Im Young-il, an official from the agency, noted, "More couples have been tying the knot from the second half of 2022 to the first half of 2023 after postponing their weddings during the initial phases of the Covid-19 pandemic." He also highlighted a rise in the number of couples having second children.

South Korea continues to struggle with a consistent decline in its birth rate, as more young individuals are opting to postpone or forgo marriage and parenthood.

In an effort to promote marriage and enhance the fertility rate, the government has introduced various marriage incentives and childcare support.

In contrast, the number of deaths fell by 3.2 percent year-on-year, totaling 29,819 in October.

This resulted in a natural population decline of 8,421 for the month.

Since the fourth quarter of 2019, deaths have consistently outnumbered births.

The report also indicated a remarkable 22.3 percent rise in marriages, with 19,551 couples marrying in October, representing the highest annual growth ever recorded.

Meanwhile, the divorce rate saw a decline of 7.8 percent year-on-year, with 7,300 couples opting to separate, as per the data.