-Childbirths in South Korea increased for the seventh month in a row in October amid government efforts to raise the country's chronically low birthrate, a government report showed Tuesday.

According to Statistics Korea, about 36,300 babies were born in October, up 0.6 percent, or 200, from the same month a year earlier. The number of babies born in the country has been increasing since April.

The cumulative number of births in the first 10 months of this year also edged up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 371,200, the latest data showed.

South Korea has been trying to push up the birthrate to avoid a decline in the overall working population, increased welfare expenses and damage to its growth potential.

The report showed that about 27,100 couples tied the knot in October, unchanged from the year before. For the January-October period, the number stood at 247,700, a decrease of 9,400 from a year earlier.

The number of divorces fell by 5.7 percent on-year, or by 600, to 10,000 in October, while there were 22,600 deaths, a dip of 0.4 percent from a year earlier.

In a separate report, the agency said that the number of people changing their residence in November dropped 1.5 percent on-year, or by 9,000, to about 614,000 from a seven-month high tallied for October.

Of the total, 69.1 percent moved within a city or province he or she resided in, with the remainder moving further away.

By region, the administrative city of Sejong had the largest population movement last month, followed by South Gyeongsang Province and the industrial city of Ulsan, the statistical office said. (Yonhap)