MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2026|No. 16762

Demographics · South Korea

South Korean Parents Delaying First Childbirth, Average Age Rises

New data reveals that first-time mothers and fathers in South Korea are significantly older than a decade ago, with average ages reaching 33.2 and 35.4 respectively.

News AutomationCompiled 11:05 UTC · 1 min read

A couple holding a newborn baby, symbolizing the continuation of family life.

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[Graphic News] Average parental age of S. Koreans rises

Published : Sept. 28, 2026 - 08:00:00

By Nam Kyung-don

South Korean parents are having their first child about two years later than they did a decade ago, reflecting a continued trend toward later marriage and childbirth, data showed.

In 2025, first-time fathers were 35.4 years old on average, while first-time mothers were 33.2, up from 33.7 and 31.2, respectively, in 2015.

The number of births rose 6.7 percent year on year to 254,300, the highest since 2021. Firstborn children accounted for 62.4 percent of all births.

The total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, rose for a second consecutive year to 0.80, returning to the 0.8 range for the first time since 2021.

The fertility rate among women aged 35-39 reached a record 52.1 births per 1,000 women, but rates for younger age groups continued to decline.

don@heraldcorp.com

PAN's pipeline reviewed approximately 1 open sources for this article. No human editor reviewed this article before publication.

Three independent reads. One synthesis. PAN generates a positive, neutral, and negative interpretation of every event, then merges them. The article you are reading is the merged output. Below: the underlying reads, weighted by source coverage.

＋ POSITIVE30%

South Korea is witnessing a positive shift in parental age, with first-time mothers now averaging 33.2 years and first-time fathers 35.4 years in 2025. This reflects a growing trend towards later marriage and childbirth, allowing individuals more time for personal and professional development before starting a family. Encouragingly, the total fertility rate has also seen an uptick, rising for the second consecutive year to 0.80. This suggests a potential stabilization in birth rates, with firstborn children constituting a significant 62.4 percent of all births, indicating a strong desire for at least one child among the population.

Source weight: ~2 documents

＝ NEUTRAL40%

Data from 2025 indicates that the average age for first-time fathers in South Korea has reached 35.4 years, and for first-time mothers, it is 33.2 years. This represents an increase from 33.7 years for fathers and 31.2 years for mothers in 2015. The number of births in 2025 was 254,300, a 6.7 percent increase year-on-year, with firstborn children making up 62.4 percent of all births. The total fertility rate rose to 0.80, the first time it has been in the 0.8 range since 2021. While the fertility rate for women aged 35-39 reached a record 52.1 births per 1,000 women, rates for younger age groups continued to decline.

Source weight: ~2 documents

− NEGATIVE30%

South Korea's demographic challenges are underscored by the continuing rise in parental age, with first-time mothers now averaging 33.2 and fathers 35.4 years old in 2025. This trend, a stark increase from 2015 figures, points to persistent difficulties in forming families at younger ages, likely due to economic pressures and delayed marriage. Despite a slight increase in the total fertility rate to 0.80, this rise is primarily driven by women in their late thirties, while fertility rates for younger women continue their downward spiral, signaling a deeply entrenched problem of low birth rates among the nation's youth.

Source weight: ~2 documents

→ Synthesis · Published Read

Data from 2025 indicates that the average age for first-time fathers in South Korea has reached 35.4 years, and for first-time mothers, it is 33.2 years. This represents an increase from 33.7 years for fathers and 31.2 years for mothers in 2015. The number of births in 2025 was 254,300, a 6.7 percent increase year-on-year, with firstborn children making up 62.4 percent of all births. The total fertility rate rose to 0.80, the first time it has been in the 0.8 range since 2021. While the fertility rate for women aged 35-39 reached a record 52.1 births per 1,000 women, rates for younger age groups continued to decline.

Ingest · open sources1

Pos / Neu / Neg agents3 × passes

Cross-read conflicts0 resolved

Synthesis · final pass1

Human reviewnone

Compute · wall time330 sec

The Korea HeraldHTML

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