Births rose 11.1 percent in July as more marriages and growing fertility rates extended Korea’s demographic rebound into the second half of 2026.
Nurses take care of newborn babies in a hospital in Gyeonggi on June 24.
NEWS1
Korea recorded its highest number of July births in seven years as the rebound in its birthrate extended into the second half of the year.
The country recorded more than 170,000 births from January through July this year, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said Wednesday.
July alone recorded 24,275 births, up 2,421, or 11.1 percent, from the same month last year.
The July tally was the highest since 2019, when 25,222 births were recorded. The on-year growth rate was the strongest since 2007, when it stood at 12.4 percent.
The number of births usually starts higher in the first half of the year and falls as the year progresses, but recent figures show the increase extending into the second half of 2026.
Births totaled 170,079 in the first seven months of the year, the highest January-to-July figure since 183,647 were recorded in 2019. The January-to-July total was 14.7 percent higher than a year earlier, the biggest on-year gain since record-keeping began.
The rise in births appears to reflect an increase in marriages over the past two years, a growing population of people in their 30s and shifting attitudes toward having children.
July’s total fertility rate rose to 0.89, an increase of 0.08 from a year earlier. The rate measures the average number of births a woman is expected to give during her reproductive years. It logged its lowest rate of 0.72 in 2023, and has risen since, and nearly reaching 0.8 last year.
A nurse takes care of a newborn baby in a nursery in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on Aug. 3.
NEWS1
The age-specific fertility rate — which measures the number of children born in a year per 1,000 women in each age group — rose to 82.1 for women aged 30 to 34, up 7.9 from a year earlier. The rate for women aged 35 to 39 increased by 8.6 to 61.1, while that for women aged 25 to 29 edged up by 0.4 to 21.
The sustained rise in births has raised the prospect that Korea’s annual total fertility rate could return to the 0.9 range for the first time in seven years.
Marriages, considered a leading indicator of births, also continued to rise.
The number of marriages rose 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 22,282 in July, an increase of 1,890. It was the highest July figure since 2015, when 23,571 marriages were recorded.
Marriages totaled 146,656 in the first seven months of the year, the highest January-to-July figure since 152,458 were recorded in 2018. Marriage registrations increased in 15 cities and provinces, including Seoul and Busan, while Jeju recorded a decline.
July saw 7,764 divorces, down 59, or 0.8 percent, from the same month last year.
Korea’s birth rebound has yet to halt the country’s population decline, as deaths continue to outpace births. The number of deaths rose 3 percent from a year earlier to 28,921 in July, an increase of 839. As a result, Korea’s population declined by 4,647 in July, which extended its streak of natural population decline to 81 consecutive months.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
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.