National Data Office releases "Population Trends in December 2025"
Number of movers last month at 568,000...up 11.5%
The number of marriages last year exceeded 240,000, increasing by 8.1% compared to a year earlier. After declining for 11 years through 2022, the number of marriages has been on the rise for three consecutive years starting in 2023.
According to the "Population Trends in December 2025" released by the National Data Office on the 25th, the number of marriages in December last year was 25,527. This represents an increase of 3,008 cases (13.4%) from a year earlier.
The number of marriages in the fourth quarter was 64,192, up 3,541 cases (5.8%) from the same period a year earlier.
The annual number of marriages was 240,370, an increase of 8.1% from the previous year. After declining for 11 years starting in 2012, the number of marriages increased by 1,976 cases (1.0%) year-on-year in 2023 and has been rising for three consecutive years since then. In 2024, it increased by 28,755 cases (14.8%).
The number of divorces in December last year was 7,840, up 284 cases (3.8%) from the same month a year earlier.
The number of divorces in the fourth quarter was 22,208, down 286 cases (1.3%) from the same period a year earlier. The annual number of divorces was 88,157, a decrease of 3.3% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the number of births in December last year was 20,003, an increase of 1,747 (9.6%) from the same month a year earlier.
As a result, the monthly number of births has been increasing for 18 consecutive months since July 2024.
The number of deaths in December last year was 32,536, down 111 (0.3%) from the same month a year earlier.
Despite the increase in births, the number of deaths still exceeds births, and the population continues to decline. In November last year, the population decreased naturally by 12,533.
According to the domestic population movement statistics for January 2026 released by the Data Office on the same day, the number of movers last month was 568,000, up 11.5% from the same month a year earlier.
Of all movers, 62.7% moved within the same province-level jurisdiction (si/do), and 37.3% moved between different province-level jurisdictions. Compared to the same month a year earlier, intra-provincial moves increased by 11.5%, and inter-provincial moves increased by 11.6%.
The population migration rate, defined as the number of movers per 100 people, was 13.1%, up 1.4 percentage points from the same month a year earlier.
By region, in January the net migration (in-migrants minus out-migrants) by province-level jurisdiction showed net inflows in four areas, including Gyeonggi (5,353), Incheon (1,283), and Chungbuk (643), while 13 areas, including Gyeongbuk (-1,533), Gwangju (-1,139), and Busan (-844), recorded net outflows.
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