Seoul, May 28 (IANS) The number of babies born in South Korea increased for the ninth consecutive month in March, data showed on Wednesday, in a positive sign for a country struggling with a demographic crisis.

A total of 21,041 babies were born in March, up 6.8 per cent from 19,694 babies born a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

The upward trend in births has continued since July 2024, the agency said. It also marked the first time in 10 years that the number of babies born in March increased on-year.

In the first quarter of 2025, the number of newborns rose 7.4 per cent from a year before to 65,022, marking the largest on-year increase for any first quarter since the agency began compiling relevant data in 1981.

It also represents the highest number of first-quarter births in three years, after 68,339 recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

The country’s total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, also rose by 0.05 from a year earlier to 0.82 in the January-March period, largely due to increased childbirths among women in their 30s.

“When measured to the third decimal point, the total fertility rate in the first quarter is slightly higher than in 2023 but still lower than in 2022,” a Statistics Korea official said. “It remains to be seen whether the current trend will continue.”

The agency attributed the increase in births to a notable rise in marriages following the Covid-19 pandemic. In South Korea, where childbirth outside marriage is rare, a surge in marriage registrations tends to lead to higher birth rates.

The number of couples tying the knot rose 11.5 per cent on-year to 19,181 in March, marking the 12th consecutive month of growth.

For the January–March period, marriages increased by 8.4 per cent to 58,704, the highest first-quarter figure since 2019, when the number stood at 59,074.

South Korea has long struggled with a declining birth rate as more young people delay or opt out of marriage and parenthood. In response, the government has rolled out various incentives, including marriage benefits and childcare subsidies, in an effort to reverse the trend.

In a positive shift, 2024 marked the first year in nine years that the annual number of births increased, buoyed by a post-pandemic rise in marriages, shifting societal attitudes, and demographic shifts.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in March rose slightly by 0.2 per cent on-year to 31,141, resulting in a natural population decline of 10,100 for the month.

South Korea has reported more deaths than births every quarter since the fourth quarter of 2019.

The number of divorces in March fell 3.2 per cent on-year to 7,210, the data also showed.

–IANS

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