KOREA: One Tenth of Population Aged Over 65

SOEUL (The Korea Times), May 25, 2006: Nearly one of 10 South Koreans is aged 65 or older, indicating the nation is aging rapidly with a dropping birthrate, according to the National Statistical Office. Conducted every five years, the census shows that Korea’s concern about aging is well placed. The population aged 65 or over is 4.36 million, up 5.3 percent from 2000. Since Korea’s population totaled 47.28 million as of Nov. 1 2005, nearly 10 percent of Koreans are senior citizens. The population under 15 years old, however, decreased 23.9 percent. Korea’s population pyramid turned into a jar shape. Median age of Koreans was 35 years. Female Population Exceeds Male for First Time The female population exceeded the male population for the first time since 1944 in Korea, which has preferred sons to daughters. There are roughly 99.5 men for every 100 women. The ratio was 100.7 five years ago. ``It is due to longer life expectancy for women and a decrease of preference for sons,’’ said Jeon Shin-ae, director general at NSO’s social statistics bureau. In rural areas however, there were 157.4 men aged between 20 and 24 for every 100 women in the same age bracket, explaining why many rural men have a hard time finding a wife. Korea, which ranked 26th in terms of population, is still one of the most densely populated countries in the world in spite of the government’s concern about the falling birthrate. Korea’s population increased by 2.5 percent during the past five years, and more than doubled from 50 years ago, but the fertility rate of 1.08 child per women, is the lowest in the world. Korea still ranked third after Bangladesh and Taiwan in the population density list with 474 people per square kilometer. Seoul has 16,221 people per square kilometer. Nearly half of Korea’s population resides in Seoul, Inchon or Kyonggi Province which surrounds Seoul. Concentration of population in the capital area is getting worse. Even Pusan, the second largest city, lagged behind with only 7.5 percent of the total population residing there. Kyonggi beat Seoul for the first time as the most heavily populated area in Korea, with 22 percent of Koreans residing there. Seoul had 20.8 percent. Yongin City in Kyonggi Province, where a lot of apartments were recently built, showed the largest increase in population over the past five years. Another notable feature in Korea’s demographics was the high urbanization rate. Korea had 81.5 percent of its population living in urban areas, up 4.8 percent from five years ago. NSO compiled statistics on dispersed families for the first time on the request of the Ministry of Unification. One point five percent of the population, or 716,000 people, said they had family in North Korea. About 48,000 people were separated from their parents in North Korea, and 76,000 people were separated from their siblings. Over half of Koreans said they have a religion. Buddhists make up 22.8 percent of population, followed by Christians with 18.3 percent and Roman Catholic Christians with 10.9. The number of Roman Catholics has increased 74.4 percent during the last 10 years. By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter Copyright© KoreaTimes.co.kr