(MENAFN) South Korea has posted its highest birth rate for the month of May in 14 years, according to government data cited by Seoul-based news agency on Wednesday.

Births in May rose nearly 4% compared to the previous year, marking the most significant year-on-year increase for the month since 2011.

A total of 20,309 babies were born in May, a 3.8% increase from the 19,567 births recorded in May last year. This represents the sharpest growth in May births since 2011, when numbers climbed 5.3%.

This May also marked the second consecutive month with births exceeding 20,000 and extended an 11-month streak of year-on-year growth beginning last July.

The country’s total fertility rate—the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime—also ticked up slightly by 0.02 from last year, reaching 0.75 in May.

"The rise in births appears to be influenced by a continued increase in marriages and the growth in the population of women in their early 30s," an official at Statistics Korea said.

South Korea officially became a "super-aged" society in late 2023, with those aged 65 or older comprising 20% of the population, predominantly women.

Despite this uptick, the nation faces ongoing challenges from an aging demographic and declining birth rates, as many young adults postpone or avoid marriage and parenthood.

To counter these trends, the government has rolled out various initiatives, including marriage incentives, expanded childcare programs, and financial benefits aimed at newlyweds.

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