Number of Births in July Increases by 7.9%... Largest Growth in 12 Years

The number of births in July increased by 1,500 compared to the previous year, marking the largest increase in 12 years. Marriages showed the highest growth rate since statistics began.

According to the 'July Population Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 25th, the number of births in July was 20,601, an increase of 1,516 (7.9%) compared to the same month last year. After a decrease of 343 (1.8%) in June, the trend reversed to an increase within a month.

The increase in births in July this year is the largest in 12 years since 2012 (an increase of 1,959). In terms of growth rate, it is the highest since July 2007, when it increased by 12.4%. It is analyzed that the increase in births was influenced by marriages delayed due to COVID-19, which were concentrated from August 2022 to the first half of last year.

By region in July, the number of births increased in 14 cities and provinces including Seoul and Busan, while Jeonbuk and Jeju saw decreases. Gangwon remained similar to the previous year. The crude birth rate, which refers to the number of births per 1,000 people, was 4.8, up 0.4 from last year (4.4). The number of marriages in July was 18,811, an increase of 4,658 (32.9%) compared to the same month last year. This is the highest growth rate for July since monthly statistics began in 1981. Considering all months, it is the highest since January 1996, when it increased by 50.6%.

The number of deaths in July was 28,240, an increase of 99 (0.4%) compared to the same month last year. This marks two consecutive months of increase following last month's 0.5%. With the number of deaths exceeding births, the population naturally decreased by 7,639. The population has been declining for 57 consecutive months.