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Nearly 19,000 couples got married in July, up 32.9 percent from the previous year, government data showed Wednesday.

The all-time high July figure was propelled in part by per capita cash benefits of 2.5 million won ($1,880), combined with greater housing opportunities for newlyweds.

Also advancing the trend is a government program that provides up to 500 million won in loans at an annual interest rate of 1 percent. Couples are eligible if they have a biological child who is under 2 years old or if they have adopted a child within the last two years.

According to Statistics Korea, a total of 18,811 newlyweds filed for their marriage registration, up from 14,153 in the same period a year ago.

Daejeon registered the highest year-on-year growth rate of over 50 percent, followed by North Chungcheong Province (42.9 percent) and Gwangju (42.5 percent).

“This year's July figure is considerably high due to the carryover effect from a year earlier. The increase is explained in large part by benefits provided by the central government and municipalities for young couples,” the stats agency said.

Whether the increase in the number of couples will translate to a greater number of newborns remains to be seen.

Korea saw a total of 20,601 newborns in July, up 7.9 percent from a year ago. This was a notable development, given the figure had logged eight consecutive years of decline until last year from 2016.

The country's total fertility rate dropped to a global low of 0.72 last year.