South Korea’s Birthrate Rises for the First Time in 9 Years! 🎉

Hey there! Have you heard the big news from South Korea? For the first time in nine years, more babies are being born! 👶🎈

What’s Going On?

In 2024, South Korea’s fertility rate went up to 0.75 from 0.72 in 2023. But what does that mean? The fertility rate is the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime. So, a higher number means more babies!

Why Is This Important?

For many years, South Korea had one of the lowest birth rates in the world. This worried people because if fewer babies are born, there might be fewer people to help society in the future.

Marriage Boom! 💍

One of the reasons for the baby boom is that more people are getting married. In 2024, marriages jumped by nearly 15%, the biggest increase since 1970! When more people get married, often more babies are born a year or two later.

Changing Feelings About Family

During the pandemic, many people delayed getting married. Now, with things getting better, more young adults in their early 30s are tying the knot. Also, people in South Korea are feeling more positive about marriage and having kids.

Challenges Ahead

Even with this good news, South Korea still has more people passing away than babies being born. In 2024, there were 120,000 more deaths than births. Experts think the population might shrink from about 52 million people in 2020 to 36 million by 2072.

Why Does It Matter?

A shrinking population can affect a country in many ways, like having fewer workers and less support for older people. That’s why the rise in the birthrate is a hopeful sign!

Reference(s):

South Korea birthrate rises for first time in 9 years, marriages surge

cgtn.com