Pyeongtaek City is the only city with more than 500,000 children born last year from five years ago.

Pyeongtaek City is the only large city with a population of more than 500,000 in Korea to see an increase in the number of births compared to five years ago.

According to the Statistics Korea's 2023 Birth Statistics, 232,028 babies were born nationwide last year, down 96,794 from 2018, five years ago.

During the period, the number of births decreased in all 17 metropolitan and provincial governments, and Gyeonggi-do saw the largest decrease by 19,358.

Based on basic local governments, 216 out of 226 cities, counties, and districts (95.6%) showed a decrease in the number of births.

Only 10 places have seen an increase in the number of births, including Gwacheon City (318), Hanam City (129), Yangju City (85), and Pyeongtaek City (42).

The remaining six are Dong-gu, Gwangju (81 people), Jung-gu, Incheon (64 people), Gimje-si, Jeollabuk-do (56), Dong-gu, Busan (45), Yesan-gun, Chungnam (24 people), and Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do (24).

Among large cities with a population of more than 500,000 people, Pyeongtaek City is the only city with an increase in the number of births.

Pyeongtaek City analyzed itself that the number of births increased due to the high marriage rate compared to other regions.

Last year, the marriage rate of Cho (粗), which is the number of marriages per 1,000 people in Pyeongtaek City, was 5.4, which was higher than 3.8 nationwide and 4.0 in Gyeonggi Province.

It is the third highest in the country and the highest level in the province.

Mayor Chung Jang-sun said, "There are high-quality jobs due to the revitalization of future industries such as semiconductors and hydrogen, and the influx of young people continues due to the active supply of housing in Godeok International New Town and Jije Station Station Station area," adding, "We will improve the settlement conditions so that children growing up in Pyeongtaek can be happy."