Seoul: The number of babies born in January surged at its fastest pace in seven years, primarily driven by an increase in marriages, government data revealed on Wednesday. A total of 26,916 babies were born this January, marking an 11.7 percent rise from the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the January birth figure is the highest for the month since 2019, when 30,271 babies were reported. This increase suggests that births are gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels, with the number of newborns showing an upward trend since July 2024. The country's total fertility rate also experienced a slight rise, increasing by 0.1 from a year earlier to 0.99 in January. This is the highest rate recorded since January 2024, when monthly data compilation began.

On an annual scale, the fertility rate last exceeded 1 in 2017, standing at 1.052. It then dropped to a record low of 0.721 in 2023 before starting to rebound in 2024. However, the rate remains significantly below the 2.1 births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration.

The ministry attributes the recent rise in births to several factors, including a continued increase in marriages, government policies supporting childbirth, and the growing population of women in their early 30s. In South Korea, where childbirth outside of marriage is rare, an uptick in marriages typically precedes a rise in births. In January, the number of marriages climbed 12.4 percent year-on-year to 22,640, marking 22 consecutive months of growth. This figure represents the highest number of January marriages since 2018, when 24,370 marriages were recorded.

Additionally, the data showed a 4.2 percent year-on-year increase in the number of divorces, totaling 7,280 in January. Meanwhile, the number of deaths decreased by 17.6 percent from the previous year to 32,454, leading to a natural population decline of 5,539.