South Korea’s Baby Uptick Driven by Older Mothers, Not Younger Couples (Yonhap)
SEJONG, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s modest rebound in births is being driven increasingly by women in their late 30s and early 40s, even as fertility rates among women in their early 30s begin to level off, according to new government data released Thursday.
The shift underscores a broader demographic trend: as marriage continues to be delayed, so too does childbirth.
Data from the national statistics agency show that the fertility rate for women aged 35 to 39 — measured as the number of births per 1,000 women in that age group — rose for 11 consecutive months compared with a year earlier.
From January through November, the average fertility rate for women in their late 30s climbed to 51.7, up from 46.6 during the same period in 2024, pushing the figure back into the 50s.
Births among women in their 40s also held steady or increased for 11 straight months. The cumulative average rate for January through November reached 4.4 per 1,000 women, compared with 4.1 a year earlier.
On November 26, nurses care for newborns in the neonatal unit at Ilsan CHA Hospital of CHA University in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)
By contrast, fertility among women aged 30 to 34 — long considered the core childbearing group — has shown signs of weakening. While the cohort maintained solid growth in the first half of 2025, births declined year over year in October and November. The cumulative average rate for the first 11 months stood at 73.3, slightly above 71.0 a year earlier, but momentum slowed in the latter part of the year.
Among women in their late 20s, birthrates fluctuated, rising modestly in September and October before falling again in November. Rates for women 24 and younger were broadly flat or slightly declining.
Officials said the age-specific divergence reflects the steady rise in the average age at first marriage, which has pushed first births into the mid- to late-30s. The average age of women at first marriage rose to 31.6 in 2024, up from 30.0 in 2015.
The data suggest that while South Korea’s record-low fertility rate may be stabilizing, the center of gravity for childbirth is shifting upward — a demographic recalibration that could carry long-term implications for maternal health, labor markets and population policy.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
