South Korea's total fertility rate rose to the 0.9 range in April, but the country's natural population decline continued for a 78th consecutive month. The number of births rose for 22 straight months, yet deaths still outnumbered births.
According to the "April 2026 Population Trends" report released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the total fertility rate stood at 0.93 in April, up 0.13 from the same month a year earlier. The monthly total fertility rate has risen for 16 consecutive months since January last year, the first period for which year-on-year comparisons are available.
The number of births also continued to increase. April births totaled 24,521, up 3,734, or 18.0%, from a year earlier. Births have risen for 22 consecutive months since July 2024. Cumulative births from January to April this year reached 99,534, 15.5% more than the same period a year earlier.
A rise in the birth rate among people in their 30s lifted the overall figures. The birth rate for those aged 30 to 34 was 86.8, up 12.7 from a year earlier. The rate for those aged 35 to 39 also rose 12.3 to 63.4. By contrast, the birth rate for those aged 24 and under fell 0.4 to 1.8.
An increase in marriages also supported the rebound in births. April marriages numbered 20,622, up 1,703, or 9.0%, from the same month a year earlier. Cumulative marriages from January to April this year also rose 6.8% to 82,931. The increase in marriages that began last year appears to be feeding into a recovery in births with a time lag.
Still, the population decline did not stop. April deaths totaled 28,405, down 386, or 1.3%, from a year earlier. Although deaths fell, they outnumbered births by 3,884.
As a result, the natural population change in April was minus 3,884. Natural change is calculated by subtracting deaths from births. Korea's population has declined naturally for 78 consecutive months since November 2019.
The pace of natural decline, however, narrowed. In April last year, the natural decline was 8,004. In April this year, the decline shrank to about half that level as births rose and deaths fell. As birth indicators recovered, the natural decline also eased.
There were wide regional differences. In six cities and provinces — Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Ulsan, Sejong and Gyeonggi — births exceeded deaths. Seoul recorded a natural increase of 408, and Gyeonggi 1,295. By contrast, 11 cities and provinces — Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang and Jeju — recorded natural declines. North Gyeongsang fell by 1,073, South Gyeongsang by 936 and Busan by 803.
Population movement also slowed. According to the "May 2026 Domestic Population Migration Statistics," also released the same day, the number of people who moved in May was 466,180, down 7,000, or 1.5%, from the same month a year earlier. The migration rate, meaning the number of movers per 100 people, was 10.8%, down 0.2 percentage point.
Seoul recorded a net outflow for the third consecutive month. In May, 95,905 people moved into Seoul and 100,126 moved out, for a net outflow of 4,221. By contrast, Gyeonggi recorded a net inflow of 2,433, South Chungcheong 1,284 and Incheon 1,237. With a net outflow from Seoul and net inflows into Gyeonggi and Incheon occurring at the same time, a pattern of population redistribution within the greater Seoul area appears to be continuing.
