South Korea recorded 254,500 births in 2025, the largest annual increase in 15 years, according to provisional figures from the ministry of data and statistics. The country's fertility rate rose to 0.80 from 0.75, returning to the 0.8 range for the first time since 2021. The 6.8% rise in total births marks the second consecutive annual increase, though deaths still exceeded births by 108,900, meaning the population continued to shrink.
Much of the rebound is attributed to the 'echo boomer' effect, a cohort of approximately 3.6 million people born between 1991 and 1995. This generation, now in their early thirties, represents the prime childbearing age. Women in their early thirties numbered an estimated 1.7 million in 2025, up 9% from 2020. Marriage rates recovering from Covid-era delays and improving attitudes toward having children also contributed to the rise.
Government survey data showed the share of respondents intending to have children after marriage rose 3.1% between 2022 and 2024. Births within two years of marriage increased 10.2%, continuing a recovery that began in 2024 after more than a decade of decline. Demographers caution that this demographic tailwind is likely to fade from 2027 as smaller post-1996 cohorts move into their thirties.
Park Hyun-jung, director of the population trends division, said she 'cannot clearly analyse the correlation' between government policy and the birthrate increase, though she noted young people appeared influenced by policies aimed at 'removing penalties from marriage and childbirth'. South Korea has spent hundreds of billions of dollars over two decades on pro-natal measures, including cash handouts, housing subsidies, extended parental leave, and childcare support. Some corporations now offer up to 100 million won (£51,500) per birth.
Despite these efforts, experts cite persistently high housing costs, soaring private education spending, workplace stigma against parents, and stagnant youth employment as structural barriers. Meanwhile, paediatric clinics are closing faster than they open, and many municipalities lack adequate delivery facilities, reflecting years of ultra-low births. South Korea remains the only OECD country with a fertility rate below 1.0.
