A few of the first infants to be born within the new 12 months are held by their mother and father at a hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. (Yonhap by way of The Korea Herald/Asia Information Community)
South Korea in 2024 noticed 242,334 infants born, marking the primary improve within the annual determine since 2015, because the nation struggles to enhance its plummeting beginning fee that’s among the many worst on the planet.
The official determine for childbirths rose by 7,295 from 235,039 in 2023, a 3.1 % improve, in keeping with the Ministry of the Inside and Security. The nation additionally noticed 360,757 deaths within the 12 months, ensuing within the total inhabitants shrinking for a fifth straight 12 months since 2020.
South Korea’s inhabitants stands at 51,217,22, in keeping with the most recent tally by the ministry.
READ: Extra South Korean girls assume marriage, childbirth pointless–survey
Regardless of the continued inhabitants lower, the annual improve in childbirths sparks hopes for a turnaround within the nation’s complete fertility fee, referring to the overall variety of births a girl is anticipated to offer in her lifetime. The whole fertility fee for Korea has been trending downwards since marking 1.48 in 2000, dipping beneath the 1 for the primary the primary time in 2018 and marking a file low 0.72 in 2023.
Sluggish beginning fee
The federal government has been rolling out collection of measures in a bid to battle the sluggish beginning fee, starting from increasing monetary incentives for childbirths and state-run little one care companies to extra advantages for fogeys with a number of kids.
READ: S. Korea pushes for higher work-life stability to ease falling beginning fee
One of many new insurance policies carried out this 12 months is a rise to the higher restrict on parental depart funds to 2.5 million gained ($1,700) a month, up from the earlier 1.5 million.
Whereas the rebound in childbirths presents a glimpse of hope by way of the inhabitants decline, the nation continued to become older. The common age for Koreans in 2024 was 45.3 years outdated, up from common age of 44.8 the earlier 12 months.
READ: South Korea now a ‘super-aged society’ amid shrinking, ageing inhabitants
Some 17 % of Koreans have been of their 50s, adopted by 15.37 % of their 60s, 15.08 % of their 40s, 12.94 % of their 70s, 12.93 % of their 30s, 11.63 % of their 20s, 9.02 % aged 10-19 and 6.13 % aged below 10.
Superaged society
The federal government final month stated the nation has formally turn out to be a superaged society, which the United Nations defines as a rustic the place greater than 20 % of the inhabitants is aged 65 or older. As of December, the proportion of senior residents within the nation marked precisely 20 %.
The common age of Koreans has been climbing quickly for years, surpassing 40 years outdated in 2014. In line with a Statistics Korea report in October, the typical for Koreans is anticipated to move 50 in 2035 and 55 in 2049.
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