The number of births in January hit 26,916. Shown are the first babies born this year on Jan. 1 with their fathers at Cha University Gangnam Medical Center in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District. (Cha University Gangnam Medical Center)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

The number of births in January hit 26,916, the highest for the month since 30,271 in January 2019.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics on March 25 released data on January population trends showing that the figure rose 11.7% or 2,817 year on year.

The total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, reached 0.99, up from 0.89 in January last year and the highest since the rate began to be announced monthly in 2024.

The number of marriages also rose steadily with 22,640 in January, up 12.4% year on year and the highest for the month since 24,370 in January 2018.

The number of deaths fell 17.6% year on year to 32,454. With the number of births rising and that of deaths declining, the population declined by 5,539 people.

aisylu@korea.kr