The number of babies born in South Korea marked on-year growth for the first time in 19 months in April, data showed, as the country is struggling to boost its ultralow birth rate.

A total of 19,049 babies were born in April 2024, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It was the first time since September 2022 that the figure logged on-year growth.

“The growth came as the number of newly married couples rose over the past couple of years after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, though it remains to be seen if such an uptrend could continue,” an agency official said.

The rebound was also partly attributable to a high base effect, as the number of newborns hit an all-time low of 18,528 in April 2023, falling 12.5 percent on-year. (Yonhap)