National Data Office reports May births rise 13.6 percent as deaths increase

The National Data Office said Tuesday that births in South Korea rose 13.6 percent in May from a year earlier, reaching 23,160 as deaths also increased by 3.8 percent to 29,573. The natural population decrease narrowed to 6,413 for the month, down from a deficit of 8,103 in May 2025.

The total fertility rate for May climbed to 0.85, up 0.10 from the previous year, driven largely by higher birth rates among women in their thirties. Birth rates for mothers aged 30 to 34 rose by 8.3 points to 78.0 per 1,000 women, while the rate for those aged 35 to 39 jumped 9.9 points to 58.0. First-born children accounted for 63.0 percent of all births, a 1.3 percentage point increase from the same period last year.

Birth numbers increased in every province and metropolitan city except Jeju. Seoul recorded 4,227 births, up from 3,591 a year prior, while Gyeonggi Province saw the largest volume with 7,075 newborns. Only three regions posted a natural population increase in May, led by Sejong with 142 more births than deaths and Gyeonggi with 601.

Marriages and divorces both declined during the month, with 20,368 weddings representing a 6.4 percent drop and 7,122 divorces falling by 3.9 percent. Incheon was the only region to see an increase in marriages, while nine regions including Seoul reported more divorces than the previous year.

In the first five months of 2026, total births reached 122,694, a 15.2 percent increase from the same period in 2025, while the cumulative natural population decrease narrowed to 28,334 from 51,404 a year earlier.