October Birth Increase Rate Hits 'Record High' in 12 Years

Increase in Number of Births in All Cities and Provinces

The number of births in October this year increased by 13.4% compared to the same month last year, marking the highest growth rate in 12 years. The number of births has been rising for four consecutive months, and the number of marriages has also been on an upward trend for seven consecutive months.

According to the "October 2024 Population Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 26th, the number of births last October was 21,398, an increase of 13.4% (2,520) compared to the same month last year. This is the largest increase since October 2012 (3,530). In terms of growth rate, it was the highest since November 2010 (17.5%).

The number of births has been increasing for four consecutive months since last July. The scale of the increase is also growing. In particular, in October, the number of births increased compared to one year ago in all provinces and cities. This is the first time since March 2015.

The cumulative number of births from January to October was 199,999, up from 196,193 in the same period last year. If this trend continues, it is expected that the annual number of births this year will turn positive for the first time in nine years.

The government attributes the increase in births to marriages that were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but surged after the endemic phase. The recent expansion of childbirth and marriage support policies is also believed to have had an impact.

The number of deaths in October was 29,819, a decrease of 3.2% (974) compared to the same month last year. Since the number of deaths exceeds the number of births, the population naturally decreased by 8,421 as of October.

The number of marriages has been increasing for seven consecutive months since April. The number of marriages in October was 19,551, a sharp increase of 22.3% (3,568) compared to the same period last year. This was the highest for the month since 2019 (20,327) in five years.