Fertility Rate in South Korea
Overview
Since the mid-2010s, South Korea's fertility rate has gone beyond ultra-low fertility and recorded the lowest level in the world. As of 2024, the total fertility rate fell below 0.7, less than one-third of the replacement-level fertility rate (2.1 births per woman) needed to maintain the population. This ultra-low fertility phenomenon is leading to a national crisis beyond mere population decline, including reduced economic vitality, accelerated aging, and increased strain on the social welfare system.
Main Content
Trends in the Total Fertility Rate
South Korea's total fertility rate fell sharply from about 6.0 children per woman in the 1960s, dropping below the population replacement level (2.1) in 1983 amid birth control policies and economic development. The downward trend continued, entering ultra-low fertility (below 1.3) in the early 2000s. In 2018, the total fertility rate fell below 1.0 for the first time at 0.98, then declined steeply to 0.84 in 2020, 0.78 in 2022, and 0.72 in 2023. In 2024, it fell to 0.68 in the fourth quarter and recorded an annual rate of 0.72. This is overwhelmingly the lowest among OECD member countries and is unprecedented worldwide.
Quarterly births fell below 60,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024, and annual births stood at around 230,000, far fewer than the number of deaths (about 360,000), accelerating natural population decline.
Causes of Low Fertility
The causes of low fertility are complex, but can be broadly divided into economic burdens, social environment, and changes in values.
Economic factors: Housing costs and private education expenses are among the highest in the world, while job instability and wage gaps among young adults delay marriage and childbirth. In particular, skyrocketing housing prices in Seoul and the capital area are cited as key factors discouraging childbirth.
Social and cultural factors: Childcare and household responsibilities are concentrated on women, and a corporate culture that makes it difficult to balance work and family is widespread. Although the use rate of parental leave has improved, it is still low, and the tendency of women to avoid childbirth due to concerns about career disruption is intensifying.
Changes in values: With the spread of individualism and changing perceptions of marriage and childbirth, the number of people choosing to remain unmarried or childless is increasing. According to a 2023 survey by Statistics Korea, the proportion of young people in their 20s and 30s who responded that they would not marry increased significantly.
Government Policy Responses to Low Fertility
The government has been responding since 2006 by establishing the Basic Plan for Low Fertility and Aging Society, but has failed to reverse the decline in the fertility rate. More than 380 trillion won has been invested since 2006 under the coordination of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, but it has been criticized as ineffective.
Major policies include expanding maternity leave and parental leave, parental benefits (1 million won per month for children under 1 year old, 500,000 won per month for children aged 1), support for pregnancy and childbirth medical costs, preferential housing supply, and support for work-family balance. However, many point out that the level of policy support is insufficient compared with the actual cost of childrearing and that young people do not feel its effects.
More recently, efforts have shifted toward making the state responsible for childcare and caregiving in order to fundamentally address the causes of low fertility. From 2024, instead of easing the obligation to install workplace daycare centers, the government has been expanding local public care infrastructure, and measures to raise parental leave benefits to up to 100% of ordinary wages have been discussed.
Social and Economic Impacts
Falling fertility leads to population aging and a decline in the working-age population, lowering economic growth rates and putting pressure on social security finances such as the National Pension Service and National Health Insurance. As of 2025, the proportion of people aged 65 and older in South Korea has exceeded 20%, entering a super-aged society. The working-age population (ages 15 to 64) continues to decline, and by the 2030s, it is projected that more than half of the population will be middle-aged or older.
It also has wide-ranging effects on military security, the education system, and regional extinction. In particular, rural and fishing villages and non-capital regions are experiencing the reality of the local extinction crisis as young people leave.
Latest Trends (2024-2025)
According to data released by Statistics Korea in February 2025, the total fertility rate in 2024 hit a record low of 0.72. The number of births was 233,000, down 7.3% from the previous year. Monthly births continued to decline after April and began to fall below 20,000 after August.
The government earmarked 23.5 trillion won for its 2025 low-fertility response budget, an increase of 8% from the previous year. Key policies include the 'crisis pregnancy support system' implemented from January 2025, expanded support for infertility treatment costs for couples, and reform of the parental leave benefit system.
In addition, amid growing recognition that low fertility stems not only from economic factors but also from fundamental social structural problems, there are increasing calls to elevate population policy to a 'matter of national survival.' The government is pushing for an amendment to the Government Organization Act in March 2025 to establish a new Ministry of Population Strategy and Planning, and is drawing up a new long-term strategy to respond to population decline. Experts say it is difficult for the fertility rate to rebound in the short term and project that it is likely to remain in the low 0.7s until 2030.
Related Topics
- [[Low fertility]]
- [[Population aging]]
- [[Demographics of South Korea]]
- [[Population policy]]