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In 2026, South Korea's total fertility rate is 0.76 children per woman, below the 2.1 replacement level. Over the preceding five years it has held broadly steady. About 250 thousand babies are born a year, a crude birth rate of 4.8 per 1,000. Its net reproduction rate sits at 0.37, far below the 1.0 that marks generational replacement. Women are having children later in life, at a mean age of 33.4 years, up from 28.1 in 1980. By 2100, projections see it reaching 1.30 children per woman.
Fertility rate
0.76 children/woman
Birth rate
4.8 per 1,000 people
Total births
249.6K
Mean age at birth
33.4 years
South Korea's fertility rate has fallen dramatically from 6.2 children per woman in 1957 to 0.76 today, below the 2.1 replacement level. Women are also having children later: mean age at childbearing has risen from 28.1 to 33.4 since 1980.