SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) — The number of babies born in South Korea jumped nearly 6 percent from a year earlier in July, backed by a steep climb in marriages, government data showed Wednesday.
A total of 21,803 babies were born in July, up 5.9 percent from 20,580 babies born a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
It marked the 13th straight month of on-year growth but the fourth-lowest figure for July since the government began record-keeping in 1981.
A total of 147,804 babies were born between January and July. The figure represents a 7.2 percent increase from the same period last year, the highest growth rate since 1981.
It marked the first time since 2015 the number of newborn babies in the January-July period posted an on-year increase.
The country’s total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rose 0.04 from a year earlier to 0.8 in July.
“The rise in births appears to be influenced by a continued increase in marriages, government policies supporting childbirth and the growth in the population of women in their early 30s,” an official at Statistics Korea said.
In South Korea, where childbirth outside of marriage remains rare, an increase in marriages tends to precede a rise in births.
The number of marriages in July climbed 8.4 percent on-year to 20,394, marking the 16th consecutive month of growth.
It also marked the largest number for any July since 2016, when the figure came to 21,154.
South Korea has been struggling with persistently low birth rates, as economic challenges and shifting social attitudes led many young people to postpone or avoid marriage and parenthood. In response, the government has implemented various measures, such as financial support for marriage and child care, to promote higher birth rates.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths in July dropped 0.7 percent from a year earlier to 27,979, resulting in a natural population decline of 6,175.
The number of divorces fell 1.4 percent on-year to 7,826 in July, the data also showed.
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