Seoul, February 25 (IANS). There has been a huge increase in the number of babies in South Korea in the last 15 years, which is very high since Covid in the year 2020.
According to government data, the number of babies born in 2025 has registered the fastest increase in the last 15 years, taking the country’s total fertility rate to 0.8 for the first time in four years.
A total of 254,500 babies were born last year, 6.8 percent or 16,100 more than in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Statistics. According to Yonhap news agency, the ministry will release the final figures in August. It is also believed that after the year 2010, an increase in the number of babies has been seen for the second time. The first year of increase was recorded in 2010 and there is a big jump in the numbers in 2025.
The total fertility rate of the country this time was 0.8, which is 0.05 more than last year. It is believed that the extent of increase in total fertility rate has increased more in the last four years. The ministry attributed this surge in the number of newborns to the increase in marriages and the continued growth in the population of women in the age group of 30 years from 2021 to 2021, which is the prime age group for childbearing.
The ministry said, “The number of marriages increased for 21 consecutive months from April 2024 to December last year due to the solemnization of marriages of couples who had postponed their marriage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the number of marriages, the rate of birth of children has also been affected.
Government official Park also said that there has been a significant change in social attitudes towards childbearing. The ministry’s latest biennial survey for 2024 shows an increase in the number of people wishing to have children after marriage compared to two years ago. He further said that the proportion of people willing to have children outside marriage has also increased.
The government department expects this figure to remain above the 0.8 level this year and rise to 1 in 2031. Furthermore, the data also revealed that the death rate increased by 1.3 percent on an annual basis to reach 363,400 in 2025, resulting in a natural decline of 110,000 in the population.
–IANS
PS/AS