South Korea sees more marriages, increase in birthrate

ISTANBUL

South Korea saw more marriages for the second consecutive year in 2024 amid an increase in birthrates, Yonhap News reported on Wednesday, citing official data.

The number of married couples reached 222,400 last year, compared to 193,700 in 2023, data from Statistics Korea showed, offering a bright side amid a demographic crisis in the Asian country.

Marriage numbers had previously been decreasing after peaking at 430,000 in 1996, hitting a record low of 192,000 in 2022, according to the data.

The number of births also increased to 238,000 in 2024, compared to the record low of 230,000 in 2023. Before last year, the number of births had also decreased since 1995, when 715,000 babies were born.

Statistics Korea noted that the increase in births was due to marriage registrations, which came after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Despite the uptick, the birth figure for 2024 remains only around 33% of the level seen in 1995," an agency official said.