April Sees Largest Increase in Births in 14 Years... Highest Growth Rate in 34 Years

Number of Marriages Up by 884 (4.9%) from a Year Ago
Total Fertility Rate at 0.79, Up by 0.06

Thanks to an increase in marriages, the birth rate in April 2025 saw its highest year-on-year growth in 34 years. The number of births also recorded the largest increase in 14 years. Following the COVID-19 endemic, the upward trend in marriages continued, with the number of marriages in April reaching its highest level since 2019 for that month.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the "Population Trends for April 2025" released by Statistics Korea on June 25, the number of births in April was 20,717, an increase of 1,658 (8.7%) compared to a year earlier. The number of births has risen year-on-year for 10 consecutive months since July of last year. The growth rate in April was the highest for the month since April 1991 (8.7%), marking a 34-year record. The scale of the increase in the number of births was also the largest in 14 years, since the rise of 2,040 in April 2011.

The total fertility rate for the month was 0.79, up 0.06 from 0.73 in April last year. By birth order, the proportion of first-borns increased by 1.2 percentage points compared to the same month a year earlier, while the shares of second-borns and third-borns or higher both decreased by 0.6 percentage points. The trend of delayed childbirth also continued. Comparing age-specific birth rates (number of births per 1,000 women in each age group) to the previous year, the birth rate among women aged 35-39 increased by 6.7. For women aged 30-34, the birth rate rose by 4.1. Among women aged 40 and older, the birth rate increased by 0.5.

The rise in marriages is cited as a key factor behind these changes. In April, the number of marriages was 18,921, an increase of 884 (4.9%) from a year earlier. This is the highest April figure since 20,026 marriages were recorded in April 2019. The number of monthly marriages has increased for 13 consecutive months since April last year. The cumulative number of marriages from January to April was 77,625, up 7.5% from the same period last year.

Statistics Korea analyzed that the increase in the marrying population, pro-marriage policies, and improved perceptions of marriage all played a role. A Statistics Korea official stated, "As the population of women in their early 30s has increased, there has been a clear upward trend in marriages since the COVID-19 endemic. Since the number of marriages recovered to the 18,000 range last year and has reached the upper end of the 18,000s this year, a marked recovery is continuing." The increase in marriages is also leading to a rise in births.

The trend of natural population decline persists. In April 2025, the number of deaths was 28,785, an increase of 0.8% from a year earlier. The number of deaths continues to rise as the elderly population grows. The number of divorces in April was 7,299, down 5.2% from the same month last year. As deaths outnumbered births, the natural population decreased by 8,068 in April.