Childbirths in Korea grew for the ninth consecutive month in November as the economic recovery encouraged couples to have more babies, a report showed Monday.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, the number of babies born in November was about 41,200, up 17 percent or 6,000 from the same month a year earlier.

The latest figure marked the ninth consecutive on-year growth since last March. It is also the third straight month that the number has exceeded the 40,000 mark, the report showed.

“The increase in childbirth can be attributed to relatively fast-improving economic conditions, which resulted in more marriages and encouraged couples to have more babies as well,” an official of the statistics agency said.

The November figures brought the total number of baby births during the first 11 months of last year to around 434,100, up 5.6 percent from a year ago, the report showed.

The increase comes amid concerns here that Korea’s relatively low birthrate could undercut the nation’s long-term growth and raise welfare expenses.

The ongoing economic recovery also helped more couples tie the knot in the cited month.

The report said that the number of newlyweds came to 30,200 in November, up 12.3 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Between January and November, the total number of marriages stood at 288,400, up 5.4 percent from a year ago.

Divorces rose 6.9 percent to 10,800 last November, while death totaled 22,000, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

In a separate report, the statistics agency said that a total of 727,000 people changed their official residency in December, down 2.1 percent from the same month a year earlier. 

(Yonhap News)