The number of childbirths in South Korea fell in February after growing two months in a row, a government report showed Thursday, a negative turnaround for a country trying to get people to have more kids.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, about 35,700 babies were born in February, down 3 percent from the same month a year earlier.

In the first two months of this year, 77,400 babies were born in the country, down 0.8 percent from 78,000 tallied a year earlier.

"The number of newborns fluctuates depending on year and month, but statistically, there usually is a slight dip at the start of the year," an official from the statistical office said. "There is no definitive reason for this trend."

Asia's fourth-largest economy has been trying to push up its birthrate to prevent a decline in the national workforce. Such a development can result in more welfare expenses and damage the country's growth potential.

The report also showed that about 20,900 couples tied the knot in February, a sharp 16.4 percent drop from the year before. The monthly numbers also represent a sharp drop from 28,400 people who were married in the first month of 2014.

Newlywed numbers are a good indicator of childbirth down the line in South Korea because very few kids are born to single-parent families.

The number of divorces, meanwhile, fell 16.1 percent on-year to 7,800, while there were 23,200 deaths, unchanged from the year before, the statistical office said.

In a separate report, the agency said that the number of people changing their residence in March rose 8.8 percent on-year, or by 63,000, to 771,000. Of the total, 65.8 percent moved within the same city or province, with the remainder moving further away. (Yonhap)