By Jihoon Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s birthrate is set to show a rise in 2024 for the first time in nine years, following a rebound in marriages that were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Asian country has recorded the world’s lowest fertility rates, but the number of newborns between January 2024 and November 2024 rose 3% from a year earlier to 220,094, monthly government data showed on Wednesday.
In 2023, newborns fell by 7.7%, extending declines to an eighth consecutive year and resulting in an annual fertility rate of 0.72, the lowest globally.
The rise comes as marriages rose in 2023, marking the first increase in 12 years after couples had postponed weddings during the pandemic.
In the Asian country, there is a high correlation between marriages and births, with a time lag of one or two years, as marriage is often seen as a prerequisite to having children.
In a government survey last year, 62.8% of South Koreans opposed births outside marriage, though that was down from 77.5% seen a decade ago.
In neighbouring China, the number of births rose 5.8% to 9.54 million in 2024, also boosted by delays in marriages due to the pandemic.
The number of marriages in South Korea in the January to November period jumped 13.5% to 199,903. That figure, unless there is a change in December, will mark the biggest annual increase since 1980.
Last year, South Korea rolled out various measures to encourage young people to get married and have children, after now impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a “national demographic crisis” and a plan to create a new ministry devoted to tackling low birth rates.
Most of the measures consisted of financial support through tax cuts and subsidies, namely a one-time tax cut of 500,000 won ($349.35) per person for couples married between 2024 and 2026, though the government has said it will try to take a more comprehensive approach.
The annual data for 2024 is due to be released on Feb. 26.
($1 = 1,431.2200 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Ed Davies)
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