The number of births has increased for the second consecutive year, with the total fertility rate rising to 0.8. Notably, the birth rate of firstborns has surged, driving the overall increase in births. Changes in birth patterns, including a rise in births outside of marriage and multiple births, have also been observed.
According to the '2025 Birth Statistics' released by the National Data Agency on August 26, 2026, the number of births last year reached 254,300, an increase of 16,000 (6.7%) from the previous year. This marks two consecutive years of growth following 2024.
In terms of birth order, firstborns saw the largest increase, with 12,600 more births (8.6%). Secondborns increased by 3,300 (4.4%), while births of third or higher-order children rose by 100 (0.5%). Firstborns accounted for 62.4% of all births, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year. In contrast, the proportions of secondborns and third or higher-order children decreased to 31.2% and 6.4%, respectively, down 0.7 and 0.4 percentage points.
The trend of increasing births outside of marriage continued, with 14,000 such births last year, representing 5.5% of all births. The proportion of births outside of marriage remained stable at 1.9-2.0% from 2014 to 2017 but has steadily risen since reaching 2.2% in 2018.
The time taken to have a firstborn after marriage has slightly decreased. Among firstborns, 53.2% were born within two years of marriage, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. The proportion of all births occurring within two years of marriage also rose to 36.1%, up 1.1 percentage points.
Multiple births have also increased, accounting for 6.1% (15,500) of all births, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year. The average age of women giving birth to multiples is 35.3 years, 1.7 years older than those giving birth to singletons.
Park Hyun-jung, head of the Population Trends Division at the National Data Agency, stated, "Since 2023, the increase in marriages and the recovery of the average age for marriage and childbirth in the early 30s have significantly contributed to the recovery in birth rates. We expect the increase in births to continue."
She added, "The rise in marriages since the transition to endemic status in May 2023 and the increase in the population of women in their 30s have played a role, along with positive changes in perceptions about childbirth as seen in social surveys."
Amid rising birth ages and an increase in multiple births, the proportion of preterm births has also grown. Preterm births, defined as those occurring before 37 weeks of gestation, accounted for 10.8% of all births, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous year, and have expanded by about 1.6 times compared to a decade ago. Notably, 73.7% of multiple births were preterm.
The total fertility rate, which represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, is now 0.80, an increase of 0.05 from the previous year. Like the number of births, the total fertility rate has also risen for two consecutive years.
By age group, the birth rate is highest among women in their early 30s, at 73.1 births per 1,000 women, followed by 52.1 for women in their late 30s and 21.2 for women in their late 20s. Compared to the previous year, the birth rate for women in their late 30s saw the largest increase of 6.0 births, followed by increases of 2.8 for women in their early 30s, 0.8 for women in their early 40s, and 0.5 for women in their late 20s.
The average age of mothers at childbirth has risen to 33.8 years, an increase of 0.2 years from the previous year. The average age for firstborns is 33.2 years, for secondborns is 34.7 years, and for thirdborns is 35.8 years. The average age of fathers remains at 36.1 years, the same as the previous year, but is 1.3 years higher than a decade ago.
By region, the total fertility rate is highest in Jeonnam at 1.09, followed by Sejong at 1.06. In contrast, Seoul has the lowest rate at 0.63, with Busan at 0.74. The gap between the highest and lowest regions is 0.46, primarily attributed to differences in birth rates among women in their late 20s and early 30s.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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