SEOUL, July 24 (AJU PRESS) - Korea saw an uptick in the number of newborns for the second consecutive month in May, marking the first such increase in nearly a decade, according to Statistics Korea data released on Wednesday.
Some 19,049 babies were born in April this year and 19,547 babies the following month, up 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, compared to the same months a year ago. It marked the first time since October 2015 that the country saw an increase in the number of newborns for two months in a row.
Researchers from Statistics Korea attributed this trend to a resurgence in marriages after August 2022, when Korea gradually declared the end of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the rise in the birth rate.
The number of newborns increased in about a dozen cities and provinces, including Seoul and the southern port city of Busan, but decreased in six cities, including Daejeon and Gwangju.
During the height of the pandemic, gatherings of more than 100 people were strictly prohibited, leading many couples to postpone their marriages.
Korea's marriage rate began its downward trend in 2011, when about 329,000 couples were married. The number of newlyweds dropped below 300,000 in 2016 and fell to around 193,000 couples in 2021. But the marriage rate slightly increased in 2023, with 194,000 new couples, up about 2,000 compared to the previous year.
Some 20,923 couples got married in May, up 21.6 percent from 17,211 seen in the same month the previous year. "The number of new couples in their early 30s is increasing," a Statistics Korea official said. He added that government policies aimed at supporting marriage may have contributed to the recent trend.
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