Researchers: South Korea's Birth Rate Increase Last Year Unclear

In 2024, the number of babies born in South Korea increased for the first time in nine years. The change is welcome news for a country that is dealing with serious population problems.

South Korea's statistics agency said recently that 238, 300 babies were born last year, an increase of 8, 300 from a year earlier.

The agency said the country's fertility rate — the average number of babies born to each woman in her reproductive years — was 0. 75 in 2024, up from 0. 72 in 2023.

The data represents the first time that the yearly number of births has increased since 2015.

Choi Yoon Kyung is an expert with the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education. Choi told the Associated Press that researchers must wait for more data over the next few years to see if increased births were driven by "structural changes."

Park Hyun Jung is with the government agency Statistics Korea. Park said the agency believes the rise is partly due to an increase in marriages following postponements of such plans during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Park said another reason for the increase is that a growing number of people entered their early 30 s. She also noted a government study that shows a small increase in the number of young people hoping to have children after marriage.

Official data show South Korea's fertility rate has been the lowest in the developed world in recent years. In 2022, South Korea was the only country with a fertility rate below one, among members of the Paris based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The low fertility rate could threaten South Korea's economic health. The country, Asia's fourth largest economy, could face labor shortages and greater spending on public assistance programs. South Korea's central and local governments have been increasingly offering several support programs to those who give birth to children.

But experts say that it will be difficult to solve the country's population problems. Many young people say they do not want to have babies.