▲ Nurses take care of newborns at a hospital in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, in this file photo taken July 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- The number of babies born in South Korea rose 11.1 percent in July from a year earlier, marking the 25th consecutive month of increases, government data showed Wednesday.

A total of 24,275 babies were born in July, up from 21,854 a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the highest figure for any July since 25,222 recorded in 2019.

The country's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rose 0.08 from a year earlier to 0.89 in July. The rate remains well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

The number of births has maintained an upward trajectory since July 2024.

Over the January-July period, 170,079 babies were born, up 14.7 percent from a year earlier. It was the highest figure for the period since 2019.

The recent rebound came amid a growing number of marriages, an increase in the population in their 30s and more positive attitudes toward having children.

The number of marriages in July rose 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 22,282. The number of divorces, on the other hand, fell 0.8 percent to 7,764.

The number of deaths increased 3 percent from a year earlier to 28,921, resulting in a natural population decline of 4,647, the latest findings showed.

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