The number of babies born during the first eight months of the year increased by the largest margin in 18 years.

According to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday, 168-thousand-671 babies were born between January and August, up six-point-eight percent from a year earlier.

It is the first time the January-to-August tally has risen year-on-year since its one-point-three percent jump in 2015, and the margin of expansion is the largest since 2007.

The number of newborns in August surged three-point-eight percent to 20-thousand-867, continuing a streak of 14-months since July 2024.

The total fertility rate—the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime—stood at zero-point-77, up zero-point-02 from a year ago.

The number of marriages in August hit an eight-year high of 19-thousand-449, up eleven percent year-over-year.

The number of deaths in August, meanwhile, fell nine-point-eight percent on-year to 28-thousand-971, posting the lowest on-year drop for the month since the agency began compiling related data in 1983.