No. of newlyweds falls below 1 mln in 2023, nearly half childless (Yonhap/10 Dec 2024)

Yonhap reports that the number of newlyweds in South Korea fell below 1 million in 2023 for the first time, reaching 974,000, down from 1.03 million in 2022. Nearly half (47.5%) of these couples remain childless, reflecting ongoing demographic challenges. South Korea’s fertility rate also hit a record low of 0.72 in 2023, far below the replacement level of 2.1, driven by high living costs, economic pressures, and shifting social norms.