According to data released by Statistics Korea on November 27, there were 20,590 newborns recorded in September 2024, marking a 10.1% increase compared to September 2023.

For three consecutive months since July, the number of births has exceeded 20,000, and the growth rate is the highest since January 2011, which was a 10.8% increase—making it the highest percentage increase in 13 years and 8 months. The increase in births is attributed to a rise in marriages following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fertility in the third quarter of 2024 reached 0.76 births per woman, up from 0.71 during the same period last year and higher than the 0.71 recorded in the second quarter of 2024. Typically, birth rates are higher at the start of the year and decline toward the end, a pattern known as “higher in the first half, lower in the second half.” This suggests that the birth rate curve may have passed its "inflection point."

Lim Young Il, director of the Population Trend Division at Statistics Korea, predicted, "If the current level is maintained through the fourth quarter, the total fertility rate for this year could exceed 0.72." This would mark the first increase in the fertility rate in nine years, following eight consecutive years of decline since it was 1.23 births per woman in 2015. The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy forecasts a fertility rate of 0.74 for the year.

The upward trend in birth rates is expected to continue into next year. Leading indicators, such as a notable 11% increase in applications for the government’s pregnancy and childbirth vouchers compared to last year, point to another growth year in 2025. Hong Seok Cheol, a former senior member of the committee, stated, “The sharp rise in voucher applications this summer indicates an increase in projected pregnancies.”

In the third quarter of this year, there were 51,706 marriages, a 24% increase compared to the same period last year—the largest growth ever recorded. Perceptions of marriage and childbirth among young people are also gradually improving.

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