South Korea's total fertility rate rebounds to 0.8 for first time in 4 years

South Korea's total fertility rate climbed back above 0.8 last year for the first time in four years, driven by improved birth indicators among women in their 30s. As the trend toward later childbearing continued, fertility rates for women in their late 30s and early 40s reached all-time highs.

First births accounted for a growing share of the increase, pushing down the proportion of second and higher-order births. Births outside of marriage edged up in absolute terms but fell as a share of all births. Multiple births — twins and higher — exceeded 6 percent of total births for the first time.

The Ministry of Statistics released the 2025 birth statistics Wednesday.

The total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime — stood at 0.80 last year, up 0.05 from the previous year. It was the first time the rate had returned to the 0.8 range since 2021, when it was 0.81. The rate has now risen for two consecutive years after hitting a record low of 0.72 in 2023.

Fertility rates rose across all age groups except teenagers, with the increase particularly pronounced among women in their 30s.

The age-specific fertility rate for women aged 35 to 39 — measured as births per 1,000 women — rose 6.0 to 52.1, an all-time high. The rate for women aged 30 to 34 climbed 2.8 to 73.1.

The rate for women aged 25 to 29 rose 0.5 to 21.2 — the first increase for that age group since 2007.

Fertility rates also rose among women in their 40s. The rate for the 40-to-44 age group increased 0.8 to 8.5, an all-time high, while the rate for women aged 45 to 49 rose 0.1 to 0.3, the highest since 1988.

The trend toward later childbearing continued. The average age of mothers at birth rose 0.2 years to 33.8 last year, up from 32.2 in 2015 — an increase of 1.6 years over a decade. The average age of fathers remained unchanged at 36.1.

By region, South Jeolla Province recorded the highest total fertility rate at 1.09, followed by Sejong at 1.06 and North Chungcheong Province at 0.96. Seoul had the lowest at 0.63, with Busan at 0.74 and Gwangju at 0.76 also on the lower end.

Despite the recent rebound, South Korea's fertility rate remains the lowest among OECD member countries. Based on 2024 data — the most recent available for comparison — South Korea's total fertility rate of 0.75 was the lowest among all 38 OECD members. The OECD average was 1.40, and no other member country had a rate below 1.0.

A total of 254,300 babies were born last year, up 16,000, or 6.7 percent, from the previous year — the highest number since 260,600 in 2021.

First births drove the increase. The number of firstborn children rose 12,600, or 8.6 percent, to 158,700. Their share of all births climbed 1.1 percentage points to 62.4 percent, meaning more than six in 10 babies born last year were firstborns. That share has risen roughly 10 percentage points since 2015, when it stood at 52.3 percent.

Second births rose 3,300, or 4.4 percent, to 79,200, while third and higher-order births increased 100, or 0.5 percent, to 16,300. Although the absolute numbers grew, neither kept pace with the rise in first births, pulling down their respective shares. Second births accounted for 31.2 percent of the total, down 0.7 percentage points, while third and higher-order births fell 0.4 percentage points to 6.4 percent.

The ministry attributed the declining share of second and higher-order births to the relatively sharp rise in first births. It also cited the high proportion of couples who have their first child within two years of marriage as a contributing factor. In fact, 53.2 percent of first births last year occurred within two years of marriage, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous year.

Births outside of marriage totaled 14,000, up 200 from the previous year. However, because overall births grew more sharply, the share of out-of-wedlock births fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.5 percent. A growing tendency to formally register marriages was also cited as a partial factor.

Multiple births — including twins — totaled 15,500, up 2,000 from the previous year. Their share of all births rose 0.4 percentage points to 6.1 percent, crossing the 6 percent threshold for the first time. Mothers of multiple births had an average age of 35.4, some 1.7 years older than mothers of single births.