▲ Nurses care for newborns at the neonatal intensive care unit of CHA Bundang Medical Center in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of July 29. (Photo: Yonhap News)
The number of babies born in August this year reached its highest level for the month of August in seven years.
As the number of births has shown a steady upward trend, this year's cumulative number of newborns is already on the verge of reaching 200,000.
According to the August 2026 Population Trends report released today (the 28th) by the Statistics Korea (Statistics Korea), the number of births in August stood at 23,703, up 13.0% from a year earlier.
The number of births for the month of August is the highest since 2019 (24,371).
While the number of August births steadily declined through 2023, falling below 20,000 at one point, it has succeeded in rebounding for three consecutive years starting in 2024, followed by last year and this year.
In particular, the growth rate for August this year was 13.0%, marking the second highest on record following 2007 (17.6%), which was the Year of the Golden Pig.
The cumulative number of births from January to August was 193,783, also the highest level since 2019 (208,018).
Compared to the same period last year (169,211), it surged by 14.5%, recording the highest growth rate on record.
The number of births appears to be rising steadily, driven by recent increases in marriages and the population in their 30s, coupled with positive shifts in public perception regarding childbirth.
The total fertility rate for August—the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime—stood at 0.87, an increase of 0.09.
Attention is focusing on whether the upward trend in births will continue, allowing this year's total fertility rate to recover to 0.90.
By birth order, first-born children accounted for 63.8% of newborns, expanding by 1.6 percentage points.
Second-born children (30.5%) and third-born or more children (5.7%) decreased by 1.0 percentage point and 0.6 percentage point, respectively.
The number of marriages, a leading indicator of childbirth, stood at 19,218, down 1.2%.
The number of marriages decreased for the first time in three months following May (-6.4%).
However, the cumulative number of marriages from January to August was 165,874, up 5.2% from the same period a year earlier.
Marriages increased in 13 cities and provinces, including Daejeon and Ulsan, while decreasing in three cities and provinces, including Gyeonggi and Sejong.
The number of divorces was 7,510, up 4.4%.
Divorces increased in 11 cities and provinces, including Ulsan and Busan, but decreased in five cities and provinces, including Sejong and North Gyeongsang Province.
The number of deaths reached 30,308, an increase of 4.9%.
By region, deaths increased in 13 cities and provinces, including Sejong and Daegu, while decreasing in only three cities and provinces, including Daejeon and North Gyeongsang Province.
Due to the number of deaths exceeding the number of births, the population experienced a natural decline of 6,605 in August.
The population grew naturally in only four cities and provinces, including Sejong and Gyeonggi, while experiencing a natural decline in 12 cities and provinces, including North Jeolla Province and North Gyeongsang Province.
(Photo provided by Statistics Korea, Yonhap News)
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