South Korea's fertility rate rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, supported by an increase in marriages, preliminary data showed on Wednesday, in a sign that the country's demographic crisis might have turned a corner.

South Korea’s fertility rate has risen for the first time in nine years, as a surge in marriages after the pandemic spurs hopes that the world’s fastest-ageing society may have turned a corner. The country’s fertility rate — the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — increased from 0.

South Korea recorded the first increase in its fertility rate in nine years, in a rare piece of positive news for policymakers who have ramped up childcare support in one of the world’s fastest-aging societies.