The number of childbirths in South Korea rose for the fourth straight month in June, a government report showed Wednesday, a positive sign for the country struggling with an aging population.

In June, some 35,500 babies were born here, up 3.8 percent from the same month last year, according to the report from Statistics Korea. But it was down from 36,600 babies born in May.

The annual increase follows a 2.5 percent on-year rise in the previous month. The figure gained 2.4 percent on-year in April and 6.3 percent in March.

South Korea, whose population is expected to peak in 2030, has been trying to push up its birthrate to prevent a decline in the national workforce, which could result in more welfare expenses and damage the country's growth potential.

For the first half of 2015, childbirths moved up 2.2 percent on-year to about 228,000 babies, according to the report.

In 2014, 435,300 babies were born in Asia's fourth-largest economy, down 0.2 percent on-year. The drop also followed a 9.9 percent plunge in the previous year.

The latest report showed about 26,700 couples tied the knot in June, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier.

The number of newlyweds is a good indicator of childbirths down the line in South Korea as very few children are born to single-parent families here.

The number of marriages dropped 5.4 percent last year, following a 1.3 percent on-year drop in 2013.

For the January-June period, about 155,900 couples got married, up 1.3 percent from the same period last year.

In June, the number of divorces rose 4.2 percent on-year to about 10,000. In the first half, the number of divorces, however, shrank 6 percent on-year to about 53,500.

The number of deaths gained 3.9 percent on-year to some 21,400 during the month.

In a separate report, the statistics office said the number of people changing their residency rose 4.5 percent on-year to about 627,000 in July, down from 650,000 in June. (Yonhap)