People aged 70 and older outnumbers those in their 20s for the first time in Korea

Senior citizens line up for free meals Senior citizens line up for lunch at a free lunch center near Wongaksa Temple in Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. Yonhap

For the first time since the decennial census of the population began, the number of people aged 70 and over surpassed the number of people in their 20s last year. In all age groups, single-person households were the most common among those in their 70s and older. Last year, the number of people registered as residents was 51.33 million, down nearly 110,000 from the previous year, recording the fourth consecutive year of decline.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety on January 10 released demographic data on resident registration as of the end of 2023.

According to the data, the number of people aged 70 and over was 6.32 million last year, while that of people in their 20s stood at 6.2 million, more than 120,000 from those in their 70s or older. This is resulted from a combination of a declining birthrate and an increase in life expectancy.

Of the total 23.91 million households registered, single-person households accounted for the largest proportion of 9.94 million (41.55 percent), and people aged 70 and over accounted for the largest proportion of single-person households with 1.95 million (19.66 percent).

By gender, single-person households were the most common among women aged 60 and older with 1.41 million (29.27 percent). This is interpreted as a result of reflecting the aging population and the difference in life expectancy between men and women.

The number of senior citizens aged 65 or older stood at 9.73 million last year and accounted for 18.96 percent of the total population. This is an increase of more than 3 million from 6.52 million (12.7 percent) in 2014. Narrowing down to those aged 70 and over, the number increased by nearly 2 million, from 4.44 million (8.65 percent) in 2014 to 6.32 million (12.31 percent) last year.

With the increase in the elderly population, Korea will soon become a super-aged society. The United Nations categorizes a society as super-aged when the proportion of the population aged 65 or older exceeds 20 percent. In September last year, Statistics Korea predicted that the proportion of people aged 65 and over will reach 20.6 percent in 2025, making it a super-aged society.

The proportion of the working-age population is also decreasing as a result of the low birth rate. Last year, seven out of 10 people (70.01 percent) were of working age. The working-age population is the people aged between 15 and 64, which totaled 35.93 million last year. This is a decrease in both the number and proportion from 37.55 million and 73.16 percent in 2014.

The population gap between the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area has widened to the largest ever. Last year, the population of the metropolitan area, including Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon, was 26.01 million (50.69 percent), about 700,000 more than 25.31 million (49.31 percent) in the non-metropolitan area. This is the largest gap since the population of the metropolitan area surpassed the non-metropolitan area in 2019.

It is also confirmed that population migration occurs within the vicinity of the metropolitan area.

Last year, most of the net inflows of population occurred within the areas that are not far from Seoul, such as the metropolitan area or Chungcheong Province. Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, South and North Chungcheong Provinces, and Sejong saw a net influx of population from other cities and provinces. Seoul, which experienced a net outflow of population, lost people to Gyeonggi Province (50,112) and Incheon (13,748), which are not far from the capital city.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.