The number of newborns in South Korea increased on-year for the second straight month in May, marking the first such streak since 2015.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, 19-thousand-547 babies were born in May, up two-point-seven percent from a year earlier.

In April, the number of newborns jumped two-point-eight percent on-year, the first on-year rise in 19 months.

The crude birth rate, which is the annual number of live births per one-thousand population, stood at four-point-five, up point-one from a year earlier.

The number of marriages, meanwhile, rose 21-point-six percent on-year in May, the biggest-ever on-year increase for the month, due in part to a rise in post-pandemic marriages and effects from state population policies, according to an official from the agency.

The number of deaths, on the other hand, dropped one-point-two percent on-year, resulting in a natural population decline of eight-point-999.