South Korea’s birth rate has risen for the second consecutive year in 2025, according to newly released government data, offering further signs that the country may be emerging from a prolonged demographic crisis that has gripped the nation for nearly a decade.
Preliminary figures from Statistics Korea show that the total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, increased to 0.80 in 2025, up from 0.75 in 2024.
The recovery began in 2024 following the implementation of post-pandemic support measures and expanded government family policies. The rebound comes after eight consecutive years of decline, which saw South Korea record the world’s lowest fertility rate at 0.72 in 2023. The extended downturn was driven by soaring housing costs and rising female participation in the workforce, factors widely cited as key contributors to delayed marriage and childbirth.
The crude birth rate also edged higher, reaching 5 births per 1,000 people in 2025, compared with 4.7 in 2024. By comparison, China recorded a rate of 5.6 last year, Taiwan 4.6, and Japan 5.7 in 2024, where demographic decline remains a persistent trend.
The pace of improvement has exceeded the government’s earlier projections. Authorities had forecast a fertility rate of 0.75 in 2025 and 0.80 in 2026, with expectations that the total fertility rate would surpass 1.0 per woman by 2031.
Marriage rates, a key leading indicator of future births, typically lagging by one to two years, rose 8.1% in 2025, following a record 14.8% surge in 2024.
Despite these gains, South Korea’s overall population declined for the sixth consecutive year in 2025. According to official projections released in 2022, the country’s population of approximately 51.8 million is expected to shrink by nearly one-third to 36.2 million by 2072.
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