"Waah Waah" February Births Hit 7-Year High...20 Consecutive Months of Growth

Ministry of Data and Statistics Releases Population Trends on April 22
"Significant Increase in Birth Rate Among Women in Their 30s"
Decrease in Deaths Also Noted
"Milder Weather Conditions Cited as a Factor"

The number of newborns in February this year approached 23,000, marking the highest figure for the month of February in seven years. The birth rate growth for February was the highest ever recorded since related statistics began. This increase was largely driven by a significant rise in the fertility rate among women in their 30s.

A staff member is caring for a newborn in the neonatal care room of a postpartum care center in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to demographic trends released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on April 22, the number of births in February was 22,898, an increase of 2,747 (13.6%) compared to a year earlier. This was the largest number of births for February since 2019, when the figure was 25,710, marking a seven-year high. The scale of the increase was the third largest on record for February, following 5,041 in 1990 and 3,418 in 2000, while the growth rate was the highest since 1981, when related statistics began. The number of births has now increased for 20 consecutive months since July 2024.

The total fertility rate in February—the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime—was 0.93, up by 0.10 from the previous year. The Ministry of Data and Statistics explained, "Considering that February has fewer days than other months, this is a relatively high figure."

The rise in births was led by women in their 30s. Looking at the age-specific fertility rate, which represents the number of births per 1,000 women in each age group, women aged 30–34 had a rate of 86.1, and those aged 35–39 had a rate of 61.5. These figures represent increases of 9.1 and 9.2, respectively, compared to a year ago. For women aged 25–29, the rate increased by 1.6 to 23.9, while for those aged 40 and above, the rate rose by 0.7 to 5.1. However, among women aged 24 and below, the rate fell by 0.2 to 2.2 compared to the previous year.

In terms of the composition of births, firstborns accounted for 63.0%, up 1.2 percentage points. The share of second-borns (31.3%) and third-borns or higher (5.8%) fell by 0.5 percentage points and 0.6 percentage points, respectively.

The number of marriages, calculated based on the number of registrations at public offices, showed a slowdown. In February, there were 18,557 marriages, a decrease of 811 (4.2%) compared to a year earlier. The number of marriages had been increasing for 22 consecutive months since April 2024.

A Ministry of Data and Statistics official explained, "This was largely due to the fact that, because of the Lunar New Year holidays in February this year, there were three fewer working days at public offices than last year. If we assume the number of working days was the same as last year, the number of marriages would actually have increased."

The number of divorces was 6,197, a decrease of 149 (15.6%) from the previous year. This is the lowest figure for February since 1997, when there were 6,397 cases. The scale of the decrease was the largest since 2018 (1,150 cases), and the rate of decrease was the highest since 2015 (-16.1%). Overall, the decline in divorces, combined with fewer working days at public offices available for filing divorce paperwork due to the Lunar New Year holidays, appears to have contributed significantly to the sharp drop.

The number of deaths was 29,172, down 1,069 (3.5%) from a year earlier. The Ministry of Data and Statistics attributed this to milder and drier weather conditions in February compared to the previous year. Since the number of deaths exceeded the number of births, the population decreased naturally by 6,275 people.

Meanwhile, according to the "March 2026 Domestic Population Movement Statistics" released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on the same day, the number of people who moved across administrative districts last month was 609,000, an increase of 61,000 (11.0%) from a year earlier. This was the highest March figure since 2021, when there were 735,000 movers. Over the long term, the number of movers has been decreasing due to aging and population decline. In the short term, it is affected by housing transaction volumes and the number of new apartment units scheduled for move-in. As the number of housing transactions in January and February rose by 30% compared to a year earlier, the number of people moving also increased.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.