South Korea's birth rate is rising, but the population is still shrinking
From The Conversation Weekly by The Conversation
February 26, 2026 · 28 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the recent rise in South Korea's birth rate amidst a continuing population decline and explores the underlying demographic challenges.
South Korea’s very low birth rate and ageing population have long served as a cautionary tale for other governments worried that they’ll see similar demographic challenges. But now, for the second year running, more people in South Korea are having children. The 6.8% rise in births in 2025 is the largest rise since 2007, and has taken the country’s total fertility rate to 0.80, up from 0.75 in 2024. The news is being cautiously celebrated, but with South Korea’s overall population still shrinking, it is yet to reverse its demographic fortunes. In this episode, we speak to Stuart Gietel-Basten , a demographer and professor of social science and public policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, about how South Korea has got to this point and some of the structural issues the country still faces. This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Katie Flood. Mixing by Eleanor Brezzi and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the f ull credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation , an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Japan is not the only…
People in this episode
Host: Gemma Ware
Guest: Stuart Gietel-Basten
Topics covered
- birth rate
- population decline
- demographics
- South Korea
- social policy
- family planning
Keywords
- South Korea
- birth rate
- population
- demographics
- fertility rate
- social science
- public policy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Conversation
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