Birth Rate Transition in the Republic of Korea: Trends and Prospects

BACKGROUND: In Korea, the birth rate is declining at an alarming pace. This study aimed to investigate the changes and trends in the population count, number of births, and birth rate in Korea, in the past and future. METHODS: Data regarding the total number of births, crude birth rate, and total fertility rate were collected from the “Statistics Korea Census” of the national statistical portal, census report, and Statistics Korea’s “2020 Population Trend Survey for 1981–2020, provisional results of birth and death statistics.” We used the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2019 Family Database for the TFR. To develop a better understanding of the data in this study, we classified it according to the modern history of Korea. RESULTS: The changes and trends in the number of births and fertility rate in Korea, after liberation, were due to the birth control policy that restricted births. In Korea’s low fertility society, which began in the mid-2000s, the fertility rate dropped to below 0.84 in 2020, despite policies to improve the quality of the population. The death toll has reached 300,000, entering an era of population decline. CONCLUSION: As we enter the era of population decline, we are in a direction that will cause various socioeconomic problems, from demographic problems to future population decline.