The number of births in South Korea rose last year for the first time in more than a decade, thanks to a wave of people getting married, researchers have said.

South Korea has one of the world’s longest life expectancies and lowest birth rates – a combination that presents a looming demographic challenge.

Seoul has poured billions of dollars into efforts to encourage women to have more children and maintain population stability.

The number of births in 2024 was 238,300, an increase of 8,300 (3.6 per cent) from the previous year, according to preliminary data from Statistics Korea.

The crude birth rate – the number of babies born per 1,000 people – was 4.7, bucking a continuous downward trend since 2014.

The fertility rate, or the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, was 0.75, “up 0.03 from 0.72 in 2023”, it said.

Park Hyun-jeong, an official from Statistics Korea, attributed the rise to an increase in marriages as well as shifting demographics.

“The population has seen a significant increase in the number of people in their early 30s,” she told a press conference.