Seoul, Dec 26 (IANS): The number of babies born in South Korea increased by the fastest rate in 14 years in October, data showed on Thursday, as the country is struggling to address the grim demographic changes posed by its ultra-low birth rate and rapid ageing.

According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, a total of 21,398 babies were born in October, up 13.4 per cent from the 18,878 newborns a year earlier, Yonhap news agency reported.

It marked the largest on-year increase since November 2010, when the number of childbirths grew by 17.5 per cent.

"More couples held weddings from the second half of 2022 through the first half of 2023 after delaying their marriages during the earlier stages of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Im Young-il, an agency official. He also noted an increase in the number of second children.

South Korea has been grappling with a persistent decline in its birth rate, as an increasing number of young people are choosing to delay or avoid marriage and parenthood.

To encourage marriage and improve the fertility rate, the government has rolled out various marriage benefits and support for child care.

The number of deaths, meanwhile, shed 3.2 per cent on-year to 29,819 in October.

Accordingly, South Korea reported a natural population decrease of 8,421 in the month.

The number of deaths has continued to exceed the number of newborns since the fourth quarter of 2019.

The report also showed that the number of couples getting married soared 22.3 per cent on-year to 19,551 in October, marking the highest on-year increase in history.

The number of couples getting divorced decreased 7.8 per cent on-year to 7,300, the data added.