Populations in Japan and South Korea Both Grow in First Half of the Year

Both South Korea and Japan saw their populations return to growth in the first half of this year:

In the first half of the year, South Korea recorded a cumulative total of 145,804 births, a year-on-year increase of 19,430, representing a 15.4% rise. The scale of births marks the highest for the same period in nearly seven years, with both the absolute increase and the growth rate hitting all-time highs.

Analysis suggests that the rise in births is primarily due to an upward trend in marriage registrations starting in May 2023 following the pandemic, an increase in the population of women in their 30s, and shifting attitudes toward marriage and childbearing. In both 2024 and 2025, the number of births in the second half of the year exceeded that of the first half. If this trend continues, the total fertility rate for this year could rebound to above 0.

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Preliminary demographic statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare show that the number of newborns (including foreigners) born in the first half of 2026 increased by 0.8% (2,788) year-on-year to 342,068. This marks the first year-on-year increase in first-half births in 11 years, since 2015.

The reason is likely that the number of marriages, which impacts the number of births, rebounded for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025.