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While Seoul recorded the lowest fertility rate among all metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide last year, it posted the highest growth rate in the number of newborns.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that an analysis of the "2025 Birth Statistics" by the Korea Data Agency showed the number of newborns in Seoul last year reached 45,516, a 9.4% increase from the previous year, marking the highest growth rate among the 17 municipal and provincial governments nationwide.
The total fertility rate, which represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, stood at 0.63, rising for two consecutive years following a record low of 0.55 in 2023.
In addition, according to the "June and Second Quarter 2026 Population Trends" released by the Korea Data Agency, cumulative births in Seoul for the first half of this year totaled 26,924, up 18.7% from the same period last year.
The number of marriages has increased for three consecutive years from 2023 to last year, and reached 26,840 cases between January and June of this year, representing a 10.9% increase compared to the same period last year.
This marks the highest growth rate among the 17 municipal and provincial governments nationwide.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has implemented various policies to boost marriage and birth rates.
Approximately 210,000 pregnant women benefited from transportation expense support programs, while about 120,000 received postpartum care subsidies.
The city has also sequentially abolished income criteria and limits on the number of procedures for infertility treatment subsidies starting in 2023, providing support for about 210,000 cases.
According to a survey by the Seoul Institute, parents' perception of Seoul as a good city to give birth and raise children rose from 3.50 points out of 5 in 2023 to 3.58 points in 2024, and 3.66 points in 2025.
The proportion of respondents expressing an intention to give birth within three years also increased from 68.5% in 2024 to 79.4% in 2025 among childless couples, and from 30.3% in 2024 to 39.9% in 2025 among couples with children currently in their child-rearing years.
Ma Chae-sook, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Affairs Office, said, "The simultaneous rise in the number of newborns and marriages—a leading indicator of childbirth—shows a clear virtuous cycle where an increase in the formation of couples leads to the birth of new lives. To maintain this trend over the long term, we will strengthen support for childbirth as well as childcare and families, building a comprehensive response system against low birth rates."
(Photo provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
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