New data showed that the number of applications for government pregnancy and childbirth support increased this year, raising expectations that the nation's fertility rate will continue to grow this year and next. 

According to the National Health Insurance Service, applications between January and September totaled 257-thousand-761, up more than eight percent from the same period of 2024.

The insurance service provides covered expectant parents with an electronic voucher worth one million won, or around 680 U.S. dollars, per child to cover pregnancy- and birth-related costs.

Applications can be submitted from the time pregnancy is confirmed until two years after the expected delivery date.

Expectant parents tend to apply for the subsidy shortly after getting a note from their doctor confirming the pregnancy. 

The latest figure, predictive of upcoming births, has raised expectations that the nation's fertility rate, or the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime, will continue to rise through early 2026.

In 2024, the fertility rate rebounded for the first time in 9 years.