South Korea's birthrate, the lowest in the world, rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, as more couples tied the knot after pandemic delays, and as policy efforts to incentivise companies and Koreans to embrace parenthood start to pay off.

South Korea’s fertility rate rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, supported by an increase in marriages, preliminary data showed on Wednesday, in a sign that the country’s demographic crisis might have turned a corner.

South Korea recorded the first increase in its fertility rate in nine years, in a rare piece of positive news for policymakers who have ramped up childcare support in one of the world’s fastest-aging societies.

South Korea’s fertility rate has increased for the first time since 2015, offering a glimmer of hope amid the country’s deepening demographic crisis. Preliminary data from Statistics Korea showed that the fertility rate – the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime – stood at 0.