South Korea registered its most significant growth in newborns for the month of June since records began in 1981, according to government data released Wednesday. A total of 19,953 babies were born last month, reflecting a 9.4 percent increase compared to June of the previous year.

This marks the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in births, although the number of newborns dipped below 20,000 for the first time in three months. The nation’s total fertility rate—the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime—inched up by 0.06 to 0.76 in June, fueled by a rise in childbirths among women aged 35 to 39.

In the second quarter of the year, births rose by 7.3 percent from the prior year to reach 60,979, the highest quarterly growth rate for this period since 1981. For the first half of 2025, South Korea recorded a 7.4 percent increase in births compared to the same timeframe last year, marking the strongest first-half surge on record.

Park Hyun-jeong, an official from Statistics Korea, attributed the positive trend to multiple factors, stating, "The uptrend was attributable to a continued rise in marriages since the first quarter of last year, an increase in the population of women in their 30s and a more positive perception of childbirth, among other factors."