A nurse on Feb. 22 feeds a newborn at the neonatal unit of CHA Ilsan Medical Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province. (Yonhap News)

By Kang Gahui

The number of births in August rose 13% year on year for the 26th consecutive month of growth.

The August figure of 23,703 was 2,720 more than in the same month last year, according to a population trends report for the month released on Oct. 28 by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The monthly number of births showed year-on-year increases for 26 straight months starting from July 2024. This year, the figure posted double-digit growth in each of the first eight months of this year: 11.9% in January, 13.8% in February, 19.5% in March, 18.1% in April, 13.8% in May, 15.6% in June, 11.1% in July and 13% in August.

The cumulative number from January to August reached 193,783, up 14.5% or 24,572 year on year, more than doubling the growth rate of 6.7% for all of last year.

The total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is expected to bear in her lifetime, was 0.87 in August, up from 0.78.

Despite the higher birth figure, the natural population decline continued as the number of deaths exceeded that of births in August with 30,308.

The number of marriages in August was 19,218, down 1.2% (224) but that from January to August reached 165,874, up 5.2% (8,179), maintaining an upward trend for this year so far.

kgh89@korea.kr