South Korea’s government data has shown that the country’s birthrate has seen a rise for the second straight year in 2025, an indication that a country facing a demographic crisis for nearly a decade could be starting to turn a corner.
South Korea’s total fertility rate—the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime—stood at 0.80 in 2025, a spike from 0.75 in 2024, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Higher Birthrate
New births saw a rise in 2024 on a post-pandemic boost and government policies, after eight consecutive years of declines that led to South Korea recording the world’s lowest birthrate at 0.72 in 2023.
2025 saw 5.0 new births per 1,000 people, up from 4.7 in 2024. The pace of this rebound is faster than the government’s optimistic-case projection of 0.75 in 2025 and 0.80 in 2026, which forecasts the total fertility rate to break above 1.0 by 2031. The sharpest rise was seen in the capital, Seoul, where the fertility rate is now at 0.63, an 8.9% jump from the 0.58 rate in 2024; however, this is still the lowest across the country.
A leading indicator of new births is marriages, which have also shown a rise of 8.1% in 2025, after a record 14.8% jump in 2024.
A sociology professor from Hallym University, Shin Kyung-ah, stated that the data required more scrutiny because of statistical effects such as population composition changes.
Policy Support For Childbirth
President Lee Jae Myung’s administration has planned a five-year policy roadmap this year to respond to demographic changes due to concerns about an economic shock from an ageing population.
The government also plans to expand policy support rolled out in recent years for childbirth, and to introduce measures to attract skilled foreign workers to support a shrinking workforce.
“The government will further strengthen support for young people in their 20s and early 30s, low-income earners and the unemployed,” the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy said last month, citing evidence that policy efforts were bearing fruit.
South Korea’s potential economic growth rate fell by six percentage points from the estimated annual rate of 2%, a very steep drop compared to most major economies. According to the central bank, it is expected to see a decline of 0.6% by 2045-2049.
(with inputs from Reuters)
