The crude birth rate -- the number of babies born per 1,000 people -- was 4.7, interrupting a continuous downward trend since 2014, according to preliminary data from Statistics Korea.

And the fertility rate, or the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, was 0.75, "up 0.03 from 0.72 in 2023", it said.

"The number of births in 2024 was 238,300, an increase of 8,300 (3.6 percent) from the previous year," the report added.

The government has increased parental leave from 12 to 18 months, tripled the monthly allowances for childcare and expanded subsidies for small businesses that allow flexibility for working mothers. It also introduced a pilot scheme to let 100 Filipino workers come to Seoul to help with domestic tasks.