The number of newborn babies in South Korea grew in 2015 after contracting for two straight years.

Statistics Korea said Wednesday that 438-thousand-700 babies were born last year, up by zero-point-eight percent, or three-thousand-300, from 2014.

The number of newborn babies had consistently gone up between 2010 and 2012 before it tumbled for two consecutive years through 2014.

The crude birthrate, or the number of births per one-thousand people per year, remained little changed from 2014 at eight-point-six last year.

However, the total fertility rate, or the number of children a woman gives birth to during her lifetime, was tallied at one-point-24, up by zero-point-03, or two-point-nine percent, from 2014.

Statistics also showed that the number of childbirths by women in their 20s decreased while the number of childbirths by women in their 30s increased, reflecting the growing trend to delay marriage.  

The average age of mothers giving birth was 32-point-23, up by zero-point-19 years from 2014.

The portion of women ages 35 or older giving birth also rose by two-point-two percentage points to constitute 23-point-eight percent of all mothers.