In 1900, the crude birth rate in South Korea was just under 42 births for every thousand people, meaning that approximately 4.2 percent of the population was born in that year. The crude birth rate would rise briefly in the 1930s, as Japanese investment would lead to economic growth on the peninsula, but would fall sharply in the 1940s, as the Second World War and the Korean War would result in two decades of significant socio-economic turmoil. While the crude birth rate would recover quickly after the end of the Korean War in 1953, a sharp decline in fertility beginning in the 1960s would see a corresponding fall in the crude birth rate lasting until the late 1980s, as South Korea would go through a rapid demographic transition and modernization. While the crude birth rate would briefly rise in the early 1990s, partially due to governmental restrictions on sex-selective abortion; the rate of decline would slow going into the 21st century. As a result, in 2020, it is estimated that South Korea has a birth rate of seven births for every thousand people, which is one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
Crude birth rate in the Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020*
Characteristic
Live births per thousand people
2020
7.4
2015
8.9
2010
9.3
2005
10.5
2000
13.8
1995
16
1990
15.2
1985
20.1
1980
22.6
1975
27.9
1970
31.9
1965
38.6
1960
44.2
1955
39.7
1950
36.34
1945
41.98
1940
42.72
1935
41.9
1930
41.18
1925
41.5
1920
41.36
1915
41.44
1910
41.54
1905
41.72
1900
41.8
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UN DESA, & Gapminder. (August 31, 2019). Crude birth rate in the Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020* [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1070601/crude-birth-rate-south-korea-historical/
UN DESA, und Gapminder. "Crude birth rate in the Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020*." Chart. August 31, 2019. Statista. Accessed December 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1070601/crude-birth-rate-south-korea-historical/
UN DESA, Gapminder. (2019). Crude birth rate in the Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020*. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1070601/crude-birth-rate-south-korea-historical/
UN DESA, and Gapminder. "Crude Birth Rate in The Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020*." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Aug 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1070601/crude-birth-rate-south-korea-historical/
UN DESA & Gapminder, Crude birth rate in the Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020* Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1070601/crude-birth-rate-south-korea-historical/ (last visited December 25, 2024)
Crude birth rate in the Republic of Korea from 1900 to 2020* [Graph], UN DESA, & Gapminder, August 31, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1070601/crude-birth-rate-south-korea-historical/