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How many babies are born in South Korea?

250 thousand babies born in South Korea in 2026. That is 0.19% of all births worldwide, and the 81st largest of any country. UN projection

2024–2100 uses the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, based on assumptions about fertility, mortality and migration. These are projections, not observed births or guaranteed outcomes. Uncertainty increases further into the future; this site does not display prediction intervals.

Births in South Korea: history and projections

10K100K1M 1 CE1000150018002100
Annual births, logarithmic scale. Shading marks modelled years before 1800; the dashed line marks UN projections from 2024.
Every figure refers to the area inside South Korea’s present-day borders. Before 1800 the state did not exist in its current form. See how borders are handled.
Year Estimated births Population Per 1,000 Evidence
1 CE ~4.4K ~100K 43.3 Modelled estimate
1000 ~66K ~1.6M 41.5 Modelled estimate
1500 ~110K ~2.6M 41.7 Modelled estimate
1800 ~393K ~9.4M 41.8 Historical reconstruction
1900 ~405K ~9.69M 41.8 Historical reconstruction
1950 785K 19.8M 39.7 UN estimate
2000 600K 46.8M 12.8 UN estimate
2023 236K 51.7M 4.6 UN estimate
2026 250K 51.6M 4.8 UN projection
2050 211K 45.1M 4.7 UN projection
2075 160K 32M 5.0 UN projection
2100 119K 21.8M 5.5 UN projection

What the numbers show

The highest annual births in South Korea among estimates through 2023 were in 1960, at about 1.1M. That is roughly 252 times the estimated ~4.35K births a year in 1 CE.

At 0.76 children per woman, fertility in South Korea is below the level of about 2.1 that would hold a population steady over the long run without migration.

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How many babies are born in South Korea each year?

An estimated 250 thousand babies are born in South Korea in 2026, according to the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection. That is about 684 a day and 0.19% of all births worldwide.

What is the birth rate in South Korea?

South Korea has an estimated 4.8 births per 1,000 people in 2026, and a total fertility rate of 0.76 children per woman.

Where these numbers come from

2026 figures are the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario. UN estimates cover 1950–2023; projections cover 2024–2100. Earlier years come from Gapminder’s reconstructions (1800–1949) and a model applied to HYDE population estimates (before 1800). The full chain is set out in the methodology, and every source is listed on the sources page.