Births up 13 pct in Aug. to highest in 7 years

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- The number of babies born in South Korea shot up 13 percent in August from a year earlier, marking the 26th consecutive month of increase, government data showed Wednesday.

A total of 23,703 babies were born in August, up from 20,983 a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the highest figure for any August since the 24,371 posted in 2019.

The country's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rose 0.09 from a year earlier to 0.87 in August. The rate remains well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

The number of births has maintained an upward trajectory since July 2024.

Over the January-August period, 193,783 babies were born, up 14.5 percent from a year earlier. It was also the highest figure for the period since 2019.

The recent rebound came amid a growing number of marriages, an increase in the population in their 30s and more positive attitudes toward having children.

The number of marriages in August fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 19,218. The number of divorces, on the other hand, rose 4.4 percent to 7,510.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, increased 4.9 percent from a year earlier to 30,308, resulting in a natural population decline of 6,605, the latest findings showed.

colin@yna.co.kr
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