S. Korea's 2024 fertility rate estimated at 0.75: Presidential committee

Seoul, Jan 23 South Korea is estimated to have recorded a higher-than-expected fertility rate of 0.75 in 2024, a presidential committee said on Thursday, signaling a potential rebound in the country's chronically low birth rate.

The total fertility rate, which refers to the average number of expected births per woman in her lifetime, is estimated to have hovered above the previous outlook of 0.74 in 2024, according to the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, Yonhap news agency reported.

The figure is still far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. The government plans to raise the fertility rate, which came to 0.72 in 2023, to 1 by 2030.

"South Korea's childbirths in 2024 are on track to record their first rebound in nine years," said Joo Hyung-hwan, the committee's vice chairman, noting the number of babies born in 2024 is estimated to have approached 240,000, compared with 230,000 recorded a year earlier.

A total of 20,095 babies were born in November 2024, up 14.6 per cent from 17,530 newborns during the same period a year earlier. It marked the largest on-year increase since November 2010.

"In 2025, the government will further bolster the upward momentum to seek a turnaround in low births while building a foundation for a soft landing in addressing a super-aged society," Joo added.

The vice chairman also noted South Korea is expected to have the world's oldest demographic, with seniors making up 37.3 per cent of the population in 2045.

In December, government data showed the number of South Koreans aged 65 or older stood at 10.24 million, accounting for 20 per cent of the country's total population of 51.22 million.

The UN classifies countries where more than 7 per cent of the population aged 65 or older as an ageing society, those with over 14 per cent as an aged society, and those with more than 20 per cent as a super-aged society.

Source: IANS