South Korea birth rises for the first time in nine years Demographic news

The rise reflects the increase in marriages after the entry into force of the Covid pandemic, as well as government policies.

The birth rate of South Korea, the most in the world, rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, as political efforts to stimulate companies and Koreans to accept parenting began to pay off.

For the last decade the country had seen its fertility As women give priority to career progress over marriage or parenting due to increasing costs for homes and raising a child, placing the country's population from 51 million on the way to halve by the end of this century.

In 2024, the fertility percentage of South Korea increased to 0.75 children per woman from 0.72 in 2023, after eight consecutive years of decline Since 1,24 in 2015, the raw birth rate – the number of babies born to 1000 people – was 4.7, interrupting the continuous trend of decline since 2014, according to Korea statistics.

The increase reflects the increase in marriages after more couples tied the knot after pandemic delays, as well as government policies in the balance of family, care for children and housing.

“There was a change in social value, with more positive views on marriage and childbirth,” NEWS told a briefing, Park Hyun-Jung also said, and also refers to the effect of increasing the number of people in their early 30s And pandemic delays.

“It is difficult to measure the extent to which each factor has contributed to the growth of new births, but they themselves have also influenced each other,” Park said.

Last year, Now President John Suk-Yol It has proposed a new ministry dedicated to dealing with the “National Demographic Crisis”, striving for a broader approach than earlier years of less effective money aimed at money.

Changes in policy include that employees receive 100 percent of their salary for a maximum of six months if both parents take a parental leave, compared to a maximum of three months earlier.

In addition, the maximum period has been extended to one and a half years, for one year, if both parents take their leave.

As of this year, the government is obliged to include companies to include their statistical data related to the care of regulatory documents, with incentives for government projects and financial support for small and medium -sized enterprises.

The government also plans to spend 19.7 trillion won ($ 13.76 billion) in the three areas of focus this year, which is 22 percent of 2024.