Last Year's Total Fertility Rate '0.75'... First Increase in 9 Years

The total fertility rate recorded 0.75 last year. After declining since 2015, it succeeded in rebounding for the first time in nine years. The number of newborns last year also reached 238,300, marking an increase for the first time in nine years. The rise in the population of women in their early 30s and the increasing trend of marriages delayed due to the spread of COVID-19 had an impact.

Last year, a staff member was taking care of a newborn in the neonatal room of a postpartum care center in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

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According to the '2024 Population Trend Survey Birth and Death Statistics (Provisional)' announced by Statistics Korea on the 26th, the total fertility rate last year was 0.75, an increase of 0.03 from the previous year. The total fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime.

The increase in the total fertility rate is the first in nine years since 2015 (1.24). The total fertility rate, which was in the 1-point range, dropped to the decimal range in 2018 (0.98), and continued a downward trend with 0.84 in 2020 and 0.78 in 2022.

The number of newborns last year was 238,300, an increase of 8,300 (3.6%) compared to the previous year. This is also the first increase in nine years since 2015 (438,400). The number of newborns had fallen to the 200,000 range after 357,800 in 2017 and 272,300 in 2020, but found a rebound point last year.

Statistics Korea cited three main reasons for the increase in the total fertility rate and the number of newborns: ▲changes in population structure ▲changes in marriage values ▲increase in the number of marriages.

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Park Hyun-jung, head of the Population Trends Division at Statistics Korea, explained, "The increase in the population of women in their early 30s in the population structure has a significant impact." She added, "Marriages delayed due to COVID-19 have increased significantly and the upward trend continues. In the social survey conducted every two years by Statistics Korea on perceptions of marriage and childbirth, an increase was also observed."

Park also mentioned, "The increase in the number of marriages recorded the largest increase since the annual statistics began in 1970, and the growth rate (14.9%) was also the highest." She noted, "Even looking only at the number of marriages, it is the largest scale since 1996." Statistics Korea plans to release detailed marriage statistics on the 22nd of next month.

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Last year, the fertility rates by age were highest in women in their early 30s (70.4), followed by late 30s (46.0), and late 20s (20.7). Compared to the previous year, increases were seen in women in their early 30s (3.7) and late 30s (3.0).

The average maternal age was 33.7 years, up 0.1 years from the previous year. The average age of mothers at first childbirth was 33.1 years, also up 0.1 years compared to the previous year.

The number of deaths last year was 358,400, an increase of 5,800 (1.7%) from the previous year. The crude death rate, the number of deaths per 1,000 people, was 7.0, up 0.1 from the previous year. The number of deaths increased in the order of those aged 90 and above (3,800), 60s (1,100), and 50s (600), while it decreased among those under 20 and those in their 80s.

Last year, the natural population increase (births minus deaths) decreased by 120,000. The natural increase rate recorded -2.4, the same as the previous year. By region, Sejong (1,200) experienced natural increase, while 16 cities and provinces including Gyeongbuk (-14,900) and Gyeongnam (-13,800) experienced natural decrease.

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