Seoul's Birth Rate Rebounds... Nation’s Highest Growth in Births and Marriages

Two Consecutive Years of Growth After the 2024 Rebound

Significant Increase in Cumulative Number of Births

Expanded Support for Infertility Treatment and Postpartum Care

The number of newborns in Seoul last year reached 45,516, representing a 9.4% increase from the previous year. This is the highest growth rate among the 17 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide and marks the second consecutive annual increase.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on August 27, the “total fertility rate,” which refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive years, was 0.63. This marks a consecutive rebound for the second year after hitting a record low of 0.55 in 2023. Notably, Seoul's total fertility rate is recovering much faster than the government’s annual projections.

According to the “Population Trends for June 2026 and the Second Quarter” released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the cumulative number of births in Seoul for the first half of this year was 26,924, an 18.7% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of marriages, a leading indicator of births, also recorded an increase for the third consecutive year from 2023 to 2025 and rose a further 10.9% in the first half of this year (January to June, totaling 26,840 cases) compared to the previous year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government analyzed that both births and marriages posted the highest growth rates among the 17 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide, indicating that Seoul's rebound in birth rates is reflected across the statistical spectrum.

Behind this are policies implemented by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to overcome the low birthrate. Notable examples include the “transportation allowance for pregnant women,” which reduces travel burdens during pregnancy, and the “Seoul-type postpartum care subsidy” aimed at supporting healthy recovery after childbirth. To date, approximately 210,000 have benefited from the transportation allowance for pregnant women, and around 120,000 have received the Seoul-type postpartum care subsidy. In March this year, the city increased support for second and subsequent children, further strengthening benefits for large families.

Additionally, since 2023, Seoul has led the expansion to a national level of the “support for infertility treatment costs for couples,” abolishing income criteria and limits on the number of treatments, and supporting approximately 210,000 cases so far. The “Mirinae House” housing program, which provides new couples planning to have children with stable housing and opportunities for home ownership, has supplied a total of 7,108 homes.

Civic awareness is also changing. According to a Seoul Institute survey, parents’ perception of Seoul as “a good city to have and raise children” improved for two consecutive years: increasing from 3.50 points in 2023 (out of 5) to 3.58 in 2024 and 3.66 in 2025. The city plans to focus efforts on establishing a structural foundation that encourages marriage and childbirth so that the current increase in births and marriages continues as a sustainable trend, rather than a temporary phenomenon.

Chae Sook Ma, Director of the Women and Family Policy Office at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, “The simultaneous rise in the number of births in Seoul and the leading indicator of marriages reflects a virtuous cycle where more unions lead to new life,” adding, “We will strengthen comprehensive support not only for births but also for parenting and families, aiming to create an all-encompassing response system to the low birthrate.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.