Births rise 15.6% in June, marking 24th consecutive monthly gain

Births in South Korea rose more than 15 percent in June from a year earlier, extending a streak of consecutive monthly gains to 24 months. The monthly total fertility rate also climbed to 0.88.

Deaths continued to outnumber births, however, keeping the country's population in natural decline.

According to population trend data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Statistics, 23,111 babies were born in June — an increase of 3,115, or 15.6 percent, from the same month last year.

Monthly births have exceeded year-earlier levels for 24 consecutive months since July 2024. Every month this year has posted double-digit growth: 11.9 percent in January, 13.8 percent in February, 19.5 percent in March, 18.1 percent in April, 13.8 percent in May and 15.6 percent in June.

Births in the first half of this year totaled 145,804, up 15.4 percent from the same period last year. Second-quarter births reached 70,791, an increase of 9,675, or 15.8 percent, from a year earlier.

The total fertility rate for June stood at 0.88, up 0.11 from a year earlier. The rate represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime.

By age group, women in their 30s drove the sharpest gains. The birth rate among women aged 30 to 34 rose by 12.4 per 1,000 women to 81.6, while the rate for women aged 35 to 39 climbed from 50.0 to 59.1, a gain of 9.1.

The share of first births also expanded. First children accounted for 63.8 percent of all births in June, up 2.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The share of second children fell 1.2 percentage points to 30.6 percent, while third and higher-order births dropped 1.1 percentage points to 5.6 percent.

Births rose in all 17 cities and provinces. Sejong posted the highest second-quarter total fertility rate at 1.22, followed by South Jeolla Province at 1.20, Ulsan at 1.05, North Chungcheong Province at 1.03 and South Chungcheong Province at 1.02. Seoul recorded the lowest rate at 0.72, though that was still up 0.10 from the same period a year earlier.

The marriage rebound also continued. There were 21,075 marriages in June, up 2,593, or 14.0 percent, from the same month last year. Cumulative marriages in the first half of this year reached 124,374, up 5.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Deaths, meanwhile, rose 2.0 percent year-on-year to 27,794 in June, an increase of 550. The natural population change — births minus deaths — came to minus 4,683. The natural decline narrowed by 2,565 from the 7,248 recorded in June last year.

By region, five cities and provinces recorded more births than deaths: Seoul with 202, Incheon with 7, Ulsan with 62, Sejong with 125 and Gyeonggi Province with 843. The remaining 12 cities and provinces continued to see natural population decline.

For the first half of this year as a whole, deaths outnumbered births by 33,018. That compares with a natural decline of 58,802 in the first half of last year, a narrowing of 25,784.

Divorces in June totaled 7,688, up 916, or 13.5 percent, from the same month last year. Cumulative divorces in the first half of this year reached 43,928, up 2.3 percent from the same period last year.