Seoul: In October, the number of babies born in South Korea increased at its fastest rate in 14 years, a promising sign amidst the country’s struggle to address the grim demographic changes posed by its ultra-low birth rate and rapid ageing.

According to data compiled by Statistics Korea, 21,398 babies were born in October, up 13.4 percent from the 18,878 newborns a year earlier, Yonhap news agency reported.

It marked the largest annual increase since November 2010, when the number of childbirths grew by 17.5 percent.

“More couples held weddings from the second half of 2022 through the first half of 2023 after delaying their marriages during the earlier stages of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Im Young-il, an agency official. He also noted an increase in the number of second children.

South Korea has been grappling with a persistent decline in its birth rate as an increasing number of young people are choosing to delay or avoid marriage and parenthood.

To encourage marriage and improve the fertility rate, the government has rolled out various marriage benefits and support for child care.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, shed 3.2 percent on-year to 29,819 in October, a positive trend in the country’s demographic landscape.

Accordingly, South Korea reported a natural population decrease of 8,421 in the month.

The number of deaths has continued to exceed the number of newborns since the fourth quarter of 2019.

The report also showed that the number of couples getting married soared 22.3 percent year over year to 19,551 in October, marking the highest year over year increase in history.

The number of couples getting divorced decreased 7.8 percent on-year to 7,300, the data added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

–IANS