South Korea is witnessing an unexpected uptick in births after nearly a decade of steady decline, offering cautious optimism in a country long gripped by demographic anxiety.

For seventeen consecutive months, the number of babies born each month has risen compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the latest official figures released in January.

The improvement follows a historic low in 2023, when the country’s fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — fell to 0.721, the lowest among advanced economies and far below the 2.1 replacement level needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

In 2024, the fertility rate increased modestly to 0.748, marking the first annual rise in nine years.

While the increase remains small in absolute terms, it has sparked debate over whether the country may have reached a turning point.

At a recent baby products fair in Seoul, young couples crowded exhibition halls testing strollers and comparing childcare equipment — a scene that would have seemed improbable amid years of headlines predicting population collapse.

Some attendees credited expanded government support for influencing their decisions.

Over the past decade, authorities have invested heavily in pro-natalist policies, including housing subsidies, cash allowances for new parents, extended maternity and paternity leave, and workplace reforms encouraging greater work-life balance.

Campaigns promoting shared domestic responsibilities and even state-backed matchmaking initiatives have formed part of a broad effort to reverse the downward trend.

Several expecting parents say the atmosphere has shifted compared with previous years, with employers now more accepting of parental leave.

Yet many also describe persistent financial and cultural pressures that complicate family planning.

South Korea remains one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to raise children, particularly due to intense competition in education and widespread reliance on private tutoring.

Childcare costs, housing prices and demanding workplace norms continue to weigh heavily on young couples.

Some women report leaving their jobs upon pregnancy because of limited workplace flexibility.

Demographers caution that the recent rebound may partly reflect temporary dynamics rather than lasting structural change.

Many couples postponed marriage and childbirth during the Covid-19 pandemic; their delayed plans may now be materialising in what experts describe as a “catch-up effect.” Additionally, a relatively large cohort of women in their early and mid-thirties — prime childbearing years — may be temporarily boosting the numbers.

Whether this momentum can be sustained remains uncertain.

Analysts warn that unless deeper issues — including rigid gender expectations, high education costs and barriers facing non-traditional families — are addressed, fertility rates could resume their downward trajectory once pandemic-related delays have fully unwound.

Other countries facing aging populations and shrinking workforces are watching closely.

South Korea’s experience may offer lessons not only in how fertility can fall rapidly, but also in how difficult it can be to engineer a durable recovery once it does.