South Korea’s birthrate, the world’s lowest, increased in 2024 for the first time in nine years as policies encouraging companies and citizens to embrace parenthood began showing results.
The country had experienced a plummeting birthrate over the past decade as women chose career advancement over marriage and having children, driven by rising housing costs and child-rearing expenses. This trend put the nation of 51 million on a path toward halving its population by century’s end.
In 2024, South Korea’s fertility rate rose to 0.75 children per woman from 0.72 in 2023, breaking an eight-year decline from 1.24 in 2015. According to Statistics Korea, the crude birthrateโbabies born per 1,000 peopleโreached 4.7, interrupting a downward trend that began in 2014.
The increase reflected more marriages following pandemic delays and government policies supporting work-family balance, childcare, and housing.
“Social values shifted toward more positive views about marriage and childbirth,” explained Park Hyun-jung from Statistics Korea at a news briefing. She also noted the influence of more people entering their early 30s and pandemic-related delays.
“While difficult to measure each factor’s precise contribution to increased births, these factors influenced each other,” Park added.
Last year, then-President Yoon Suk-yeol proposed creating a ministry focused on addressing the “national demographic crisis,” aiming for a broader approach than earlier cash-focused support programs.
Policy changes now include 100 percent salary continuation for up to six months when both parents take parental leave, increased from three months previously. The maximum leave period was extended to 18 months from 12 months when both parents participate.
Starting this year, listed companies must include childcare-related statistics in regulatory filings, with incentives offered for government projects and financial support for small and medium enterprises.
The government plans to invest 19.7 trillion won ($13.76 billion) in these focus areas this year, a 22 percent increase from 2024.
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