No. of childbirths in S. Korea rose for first time in 9 years in 2024

We start with some promising news on the local front.

South Korea's birth rate and fertility rate both rose for the first time in nine years driven by more marriages and supportive measures.

Our Lee Soo-jin covers the latest data.

The number of births last year in South Korea rose for the first time in nine years, marking a rare and encouraging shift in the nation's long-suffering demographic crisis.

Data from Statistics Korea on Wednesday shows that there were 2-hundred-38-thousand-3-hundred births in 2024, up 3-point-6 percent compared to the previous year.

This marks the first time since 2015 that the number of births in Korea saw an on-year increase.

And the nation's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, also rose for the first time in nine years to point-75, after it fell to its lowest annual figure of point-72 in 2023.

"This shift is driven by the post-COVID-19 rise in marriages and an increase in the population of women in their 30s. Our survey also shows that, compared to two years ago, attitudes toward childbirth and parenting have become somewhat more positive."

The official also said that as the number of marriages last year came to 2-hundred-22-thousand-4-hundred-22, the highest recorded since 2019, the number of births may continue to see an upward tick this year.

The positive shift comes as the government implemented various policies last year such as extending the duration of parental leave.

Yoo Hye-mi, senior presidential secretary for low birth rate response, said on Wednesday that the government will address policy gaps in childcare and housing while supporting families with multiple children to sustain the increase.

And the number of births for just the month of December also rose 11-point-6 percent compared to the previous year.

But despite the turnaround in the total fertility rate, it remains low by international standards, as South Korea is currently the only country with a fertility rate below 1, signaling a continued need for targeted efforts to boost population growth.

The country saw a natural population decline for the fifth straight year, as the number of deaths once again outnumbered the number of births.

Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News.