Seoul, Oct 23 (IANS): The number of babies born in South Korea increased on-year for the second consecutive month in August, data showed on Wednesday, amid lingering demographic challenges caused by the ultra-low birth rate and rapid ageing.

A total of 20,098 babies were born in August, up 5.9 per cent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The growth followed 20,601 births recorded in July, marking a 7.9 per cent on-year rise.

The increase apparently came after more couples held weddings from the second half of 2022 through the first half of 2023, having delayed their marriages during the earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total fertility rate, which refers to the average number of expected births per woman in her lifetime, however, stood at a record low of 0.71 in the second quarter of 2024.

The figure is far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration, Yonhap news agency reported.

Over the January-August period, the number of births totalled 158,000, down 0.4 per cent from a year earlier.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, increased 5.6 per cent on-year to reach 32,244 in August. The number of deaths has exceeded the number of newborns since the fourth quarter of 2019.

Accordingly, South Korea reported a natural population decrease of 12,146.

The report also showed that the number of couples getting married soared 20 per cent on-year to 17,527 in August.

The number of couples getting divorced grew by 5.5 per cent on-year to 7,616, the data added.

South Korea is experiencing grim demographic changes, as many young people opt to postpone or forgo marriage and having children, in line with changing social norms and lifestyles.