Births in South Korea have now risen year on year for 25 straight months.
The Ministry of Data and Statistics (국가데이터처, the agency formerly known as Statistics Korea) published its July 2026 population trends on September 23, 2026. Like all monthly figures, they are provisional and based on registrations of births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
24,275 babies were born in July, 2,421 more (+11.1%) than in July 2025 (21,854). That was the most for any July since 2019 and the 25th consecutive month in which births exceeded the same month a year earlier. Several Korean outlets reported that the 11.1% rise was the fastest July growth since 2007 (12.4%).
| Indicator | July 2026 | Change from July 2025 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Births | 24,275 | +2,421 (+11.1%) | Most for a July since 2019 |
| Total fertility rate (monthly, annualized) | 0.89 | +0.08 | July 2025: 0.81 |
| Marriages | 22,282 | +1,890 (+9.3%) | Most for a July since 2015 |
| Divorces | 7,764 | −59 (−0.8%) | — |
| Deaths | 28,921 | +839 (+3.0%) | Most for any July since records began in 1983 |
| Natural change (births minus deaths) | −4,647 | Decrease 1,581 smaller (July 2025: −6,228) | 81st straight month of natural decrease |
Births rose from a year earlier in every province-level region; there are now 16, after Gwangju and South Jeolla Province merged on July 1, 2026. Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, had the most births (7,205). First-born children made up 63.4% of July births, up 1.7 percentage points.
Women in their 30s drove the increase. The July birth rate for women aged 30–34 was 82.1 per 1,000 (up 7.9 from a year earlier), and for women aged 35–39 it was 61.1 (up 8.6), according to several Korean outlets.
From January to July 2026, 170,079 babies were born, up 14.7% from the same period of 2025. Multiple Korean media reports of the release said this was the fastest growth for that period on record. Marriages in January–July rose 6.1% to 146,656.
The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime at current age-specific birth rates. A population needs a rate of about 2.1 to stay stable without immigration.
South Korea's TFR was 1.24 in 2015 and then fell for eight straight years. It dropped below 1.0 in 2018 (0.98) and reached a record low of 0.72 in 2023. In 2024, Korea's rate (0.75) was the lowest of the 38 OECD members, whose average was 1.40, and Korea was the only member below 1, according to the ministry's August 26, 2026 release as reported by News1.
| Year | Total fertility rate | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.24 | Last high before eight straight years of decline |
| 2017 | 1.05 | — |
| 2018 | 0.98 | Fell below 1.0 |
| 2019 | 0.92 | — |
| 2021 | 0.81 | — |
| 2023 | 0.72 | Record low |
| 2024 | 0.75 | First annual rise in nine years |
| 2025 | 0.80 | Confirmed Aug. 26, 2026; first 0.8-level reading in four years |
The confirmed data now show the turnaround. On August 26, 2026, the ministry confirmed 254,341 births in 2025, up 16,024 (+6.7%), the largest annual increase in 15 years, and a TFR of 0.80. The birth rate for women aged 35–39 reached a record high (52.1 per 1,000), and the average age of mothers was 33.8.
The gaps between regions are still wide. In 2025, Seoul had the lowest rate among province-level regions (0.63) and South Jeolla Province had the highest (1.09). The national rate of 0.80 is still less than 40% of the 2.1 replacement level.
All of the 2026 fertility rates in the table below are above last year's annual 0.80. Each of these rates is annualized from a single month or quarter, so they swing with the seasons and are not an estimate of the 2026 annual rate.
| Period (2026, provisional) | Fertility rate | Births | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| January–March | 0.95 | — | — |
| April | 0.93 | — | — |
| May | 0.85 | 23,160 | +13.6% |
| June | 0.88 | 23,111 | +15.6% |
| July | 0.89 | 24,275 | +11.1% |
| January–June | — | 145,804 | +15.4% |
| January–July | — | 170,079 | +14.7% |
Births grew more slowly in July (11.1%) than in June (15.6%), but they were still higher than a year earlier. According to the August 26 release, June's rise was the fastest for any June since records began in 1981.
Officials and analysts point to three main factors. Officials have said it is difficult to measure how much each one contributes, so read them as the explanations most often given, not as settled findings.
More marriages after the pandemic. Marriages jumped 14.8% in 2024 to 222,412, the largest percentage increase since records began in 1970, according to official marriage statistics released in March 2025. They are still rising overall, though not every month: marriages fell 6.4% year on year in May 2026, which the ministry put down to fewer days for filing registrations after Labor Day became a public holiday, then rose again in June and July. In July, 22,282 couples married (+9.3%), the most for a July since 2015. According to Al Jazeera, Statistics Korea officials explained the 2024 rise by more marriages after COVID-19, demographic shifts and changing social values; one of them, Park Hyun-jung, cited "more positive views about marriage and childbirth."
A bigger generation in its early 30s. People born in the early 1990s are now in their early 30s. They are the children of Korea's second baby-boom generation, born 1964–1974. Women aged 30–34 have the highest birth rate of any age group (73.1 per 1,000 in 2025). The Korea Herald and Yonhap both point to the growing number of people in their 30s. BusinessKorea reported that the agency cited more women in their early 30s, the main childbearing age group.
Changing attitudes. According to BusinessKorea, the agency also said more positive social attitudes toward having children helped. Yonhap's report lists the same three factors (more marriages, more people in their 30s and more positive attitudes) but does not attribute them to anyone.
Not everyone expects the rise to last. Cho Eunjoo, an associate professor of sociology at Jeonbuk National University, told Al Jazeera in March 2025 that the rate was still far below the replacement level and that she expected it to decline again in the near future.
Deaths reached 28,921 in July, up 3.0% and the most for any July since records began in 1983. Korean media, citing the ministry, said more older people vulnerable to temperature swings died during a heat wave.
Because deaths exceeded births, Korea's population had a natural decrease of 4,647 in July. That made July the 81st consecutive month in which deaths outnumbered births, a run that began in November 2019. The gap is getting smaller: the July decrease a year earlier was 6,228, and the January–July 2026 decrease was 37,664, down from 64,990 in the same period of 2025.
For all of 2025, confirmed figures released on September 22, 2026 show 362,968 deaths (+1.2%), the second-highest since records began in 1970, after 2022 (372,939). Against 254,341 confirmed births, that is a natural decrease of 108,627 by our calculation.
For comparison, Japan's fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.14 in 2025, according to preliminary data from its Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Births to Japanese nationals fell to 671,236, the tenth straight annual decline. Even with the rebound, South Korea's rate is still well below Japan's.
In August 2026 the Korea Herald reported that the private BirthGauge tracker projected Taiwan's 2025 rate fell below Korea's, ending Korea's run as the lowest of the 93 economies it covers. That is a projection, not an official ranking.
Whether the rebound lasts. Several analysts say the increase comes mainly from the size of the early-1990s generation and couples catching up on weddings delayed by the pandemic. If so, it could fade once those effects run their course. If attitudes toward marriage and children have really changed, the rise could last longer. The data so far cannot tell these explanations apart.
The 2026 annual rate. Officials and researchers have said the trend suggests the 2026 TFR could top 0.9 for the first time since 2019 (0.92). That is a projection. If this year's schedule repeats, a provisional annual figure would come out around February 2027 and a confirmed figure later in 2027.
Revisions. Monthly numbers are provisional and can change. For example, the 2025 birth total was first reported as 254,500 and revised to 254,341 in the confirmed release.
Population size. Natural decrease counts only births and deaths. Whether South Korea's total population grows or shrinks also depends on migration, including foreign residents, and these releases do not cover that.
Yes, as of the latest data released Sept. 23, 2026. Births have risen year on year for 25 consecutive months through July 2026, when 24,275 babies were born (+11.1%, provisional). The annual fertility rate rose from a record-low 0.72 in 2023 to 0.75 in 2024 and 0.80 in 2025 (confirmed Aug. 26, 2026).
As of Sept. 23, 2026, there is no annual 2026 figure yet. Provisional rates for 2026 were 0.95 for January–March, 0.93 in April, 0.85 in May, 0.88 in June and 0.89 in July, but each is annualized from a short period and swings with the seasons. Officials and researchers project that the full-year rate could top 0.9, which would be the first time since 2019 (0.92). The latest confirmed annual rate is 0.80, for 2025.
As of September 2026, officials and analysts cite three reasons: more marriages after the pandemic (up 14.8% in 2024 per official statistics, and up 9.3% year on year in July 2026, provisional), a larger population in their early 30s who are children of the 1964–1974 baby boomers, and more positive attitudes toward marriage and childbirth. These are the explanations given; officials say it is hard to measure how much each one contributes.
Counting births and deaths only, yes. As of the July 2026 data released Sept. 23, 2026 (provisional), deaths have outnumbered births every month since November 2019, 81 straight months. The natural decrease was 4,647 in July and 37,664 for January–July 2026, down from 64,990 a year earlier. For 2025, confirmed data show 362,968 deaths and 254,341 births, a natural decrease of 108,627. Total population change also depends on migration, which these figures do not include.
The record low was 0.72, in 2023. The rate was 1.24 in 2015 and fell below 1.0 in 2018 (0.98). According to confirmed data released Aug. 26, 2026, it recovered to 0.80 in 2025, still far below the 2.1 a population needs to stay stable without immigration.
Possibly not, but it depends on the source. According to the official release of Aug. 26, 2026 (as reported by News1), Korea had the lowest rate in the OECD in 2024 (0.75, against an OECD average of 1.40) and was the only member below 1. Its confirmed 2025 rate was 0.80, while Japan's was 1.14 (preliminary). In August 2026 the Korea Herald reported that the private BirthGauge tracker projected Taiwan's 2025 rate fell below Korea's, which would end Korea's run as the lowest of the 93 economies it covers. That is a projection, not an official ranking.