Most Korean Parents Have Only 1 Child

Most Korean parents now only have one child, figures suggest. More than six out of 10 babies born last year were first children, the first time the proportion surpassed 60 percent.

According to Statistics Korea on Sunday, 62.7 percent of the 249,000 babies born last year were first-borns, while 30.5 percent were second children and only 6.8 percent were third ones.

The proportion of first-borns increased from 50.4 percent in 2010 and 41 percent in 1981, when the government began tallying such statistics. 

Childbirths overall have fallen dramatically from 438,400 in 2015. The number of first-borns also declined until 2021 but rose 5.5 percent last year, probably because couples who put off their marriage in the coronavirus pandemic went ahead and had a child.

But the proportion of second-born babies declined 16.7 percent and the ratio of third-born babies dropped 20.9 percent.