June births rise 9.4 percent, the largest increase on record

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June births rise 9.4 percent, the largest increase on record

Published: 27 Aug. 2025, 18:48

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A worker examines newborns at a neonatal unit at a hospital in Ilsan District, Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 27. [NEWS1]

Korea’s birthrate recorded its fastest growth since the government began compiling such data more than four decades ago, with the number of babies born in June rising 9.4 percent from a year earlier — the steepest increase on record.

June also marked the country's 12th straight month of rising births, pushing the total for the first half of this year above 120,000.

The trend is expected to continue, with projections suggesting that the number of births this year could surpass last year's total of 238,000.

A total of 19,953 babies were born in June, up 1,709, or 9.4 percent from the same month last year, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday.

“The rise is due to a combination of factors including an increase in marriages since the first quarter of last year, more women in their 30s and changing attitudes toward childbirth," said Park Hyun-jung, head of the demographic trends division at Statistics Korea.

The June figure marked the highest number of births for that month since 21,504 in June 2021. The increase rate was also the highest since Statistics Korea began tracking the data in 1981. From January to June, 126,001 babies were born, up 8,721, or 7.4 percent from the first half of last year, also the sharpest growth on record. The second quarter increase was 7.3 percent.

The total fertility rate in June — the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — was 0.76, up 0.06 from a year earlier. The second quarter figure also rose 0.05 year over year to 0.76.

Births are being driven largely by women in their 30s. In the second quarter, births among mothers 30 to 34 rose by 2.7 per 1,000 women, while those aged 35 to 39 increased by 5.1. In contrast, births among women 25 to 29 edged up by only 0.5, while those among women younger than 24 declined by 0.1.

Visitors at a wedding expo at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, look at wedding dresses on display on July 6. [NEWS1]

The increase in marriages — a leading indicator of future births — has also continued for 15 straight months since April 2024.

In June, 18,487 couples got married, 1,539 more than a year earlier, marking a 9.1 percent rise. For the first half of the year, marriages totaled 117,873, up 7.1 percent, the highest in six years since 2019.

“More people in their early 30s, changing attitudes toward marriage and government incentives such as wedding subsidies are contributing to the increase in marriages," Park said.

Data from the National Health Insurance Service also shows that the number of women expecting to give birth has been rising again since last year.

Despite the rebound in births, Korea’s total population continues to decline due to rising deaths among older people. The overall population has been shrinking every month for 68 months since November 2019.

In the second quarter, 84,565 people died, up 609, or 0.7 percent from a year earlier, resulting in a natural decrease of 23,586. For the first half of the year, the natural population decline totaled 59,460.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM KYUNG-HEE [[email protected]]