The number of births in April was the highest in seven years. The number of marriages, viewed as a leading indicator for births, also hit a 10-year high. As the increase in marriages leads to births with a lag, some said the rebound in births is becoming clear.

According to the April 2026 population trends that the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released on the 24th, the number of births in April was 24,521, up 18% from a year earlier. For April, it was the most births in seven years since 2019 (26,100).

A nurse cares for a newborn in the neonatal unit at CHA University Ilsan CHA Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on April 22. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

The growth rate (18%) was the "largest on record" for the same month since monthly statistics began in 1981. Without limiting by month, it was the fifth-largest growth rate ever after ▲December 1991 (23.4%) ▲March this year (19.4%) ▲October 2007 (18.6%) ▲March 1991 (18%).

The increase in births has continued for 22 consecutive months. All 17 provinces and metropolitan cities saw births increase. The total fertility rate (the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime) was 0.93. The total fertility rate, which was only 0.8 at the end of last year, reached 0.99 in January and 0.93 in February–April, approaching "1."

Marriages were also numerous. The number of marriages in April was 20,622, up 9% from a year earlier. For the same month, marriages were the most in 10 years since 2016 (22,844). A Data Agency official said, "As the population in the early 30s, who marry often, increases, the number of births is also continuing to rise."

National monthly birth trend (top) and marriage trend. /Courtesy of Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS)

Meanwhile, subtracting the number of deaths (28,405, down 1.3%) from the number of births in April showed a "natural decrease" of 3,884. The pace of natural decrease is gradually slowing. The last time a "natural increase" was recorded was April 2019. The "natural growth rate," which subtracts the crude death rate (deaths per 1,000 people) from the crude birth rate (births per 1,000 people), was -0.9, and the decline has been narrowing since bottoming at -2.3 in 2022.

There are more provinces and metropolitan cities recording a "natural increase," where births outnumber deaths. In April, six regions—Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Daejeon, Ulsan and Sejong—recorded a natural increase. For a while, Sejong was the only region with a natural increase. Ulsan and Daejeon returned to a natural increase for the first time since September 2020 and September 2025, respectively.

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