Babies born in South Korea in 2019 are expected to live more than 83 years, with the country's life expectancy rising by the biggest margin since 1987.

According to the latest data from Statistics Korea on Tuesday, life expectancy at birth averaged 83-point-three years last year, point-six years longer than in 2018.

Baby boys are expected to live 80-point-three years, while girls are expected to live 86-point-three years, with the gender gap in life expectancy remaining unchanged at six years for the second straight year.

Compared to the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), life expectancies for male and female babies in South Korea are two-point-two years and two-point-nine years longer, respectively.

Meanwhile, cancer was the number one cause of death in the future for babies born in 2019, followed by heart diseases and pneumonia.