Newborn numbers rise in 2024 for 1st time in 9 years

The total number of babies born in Korea increased for the first time in nearly a decade in 2024, according to data released Wednesday, raising hopes for a country that has long struggled with accelerated population decline. According to Statistics Korea, a total of 238,817 babies were born in 2024, up from 230,028 the previous year. This marked the first year-on-year increase since 2015, when births rose by 0.69 percent to 438,420. The number of births has declined every year since. The average age of women giving birth rose slightly to 33.7 years in 2024, up from 33.6 the previous year. The birth rate was highest among women in their early 30s, with 70.4 births per 1,000 women. Many of those driving the trend were born in the 1990s, when the country’s population was still growing. The average duration of marriage before having a first child remained steady at 2.5 years, showing little change from the previous year. Last year’s rise in births also led to a rebound in the total fertility rate, which rose to 0.75, up from 0.72 in 2023. It had been on a steady decline since hitting 1.24Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times