May births highest in 7 years in South Korea, with record growth rate

South Korea saw a notable increase in births in May, with 23,160 newborns registered. This figure marks the highest number of births for the month of May in seven years. The year-on-year increase rate for births in May reached 13.6%, the highest since statistics began being compiled in 1981.

From January to May this year, a total of 122,694 babies were born, an increase of 16,166 births (15.2%) compared to the same period last year. Both the absolute increase and the growth rate represent record highs for the January-May period.

The total fertility rate, which measures the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, was 0.85 in May, an increase of 0.10 from the previous year. The rate had surpassed 0.9 for four consecutive months this year, suggesting the annual rate could exceed last year's 0.80.

The rise in births was particularly pronounced among women in their 30s. The birth rate for women aged 30-34 increased by 8.3 per 1,000 women in that age group compared to the previous year, reaching 78 births. For women aged 35-39, the rate increased by 9.9 per 1,000, reaching 58 births.

In contrast, the number of marriages in May decreased by 1,392 (6.4%) compared to the previous year, totaling 20,368. Park Hyun-jung, head of the Population Trends Division at Statistics Korea, attributed the marriage decline to the new Labor Day holiday falling on a weekday, reducing the number of available reporting days. She noted that when adjusted for the number of reporting days, the marriage trend remains slightly positive.

“

The decrease in the number of marriages in May appears to be due to the reduction in reporting days caused by the holiday. When calculated considering the number of reporting days, the number of marriages actually increased slightly, and the overall increasing trend is being maintained.