South Korea Officially Enters 'Super-Aged' Society Era

Seoul, Dec 24 (NationPress) South Korea has officially transitioned into a super-aged society, with the percentage of individuals aged 65 and above exceeding 20 percent, according to the interior ministry's announcement on Tuesday. The nation faces a demographic challenge due to an increasingly ageing population coupled with low birth rates.

As of Monday, the count of South Koreans aged 65 or older reached 10.24 million, representing 20.0 percent of the total population of 51.22 million, as reported by the ministry and the Yonhap news agency.

The United Nations categorizes nations with over 7 percent of their population aged 65 and older as an ageing society, those surpassing 14 percent as an aged society, and countries with more than 20 percent as a super-aged society.

The demographic of older individuals in South Korea has steadily increased over the years, with 4.94 million in 2008.

In 2008, this age group comprised 10 percent of the population, rising above 15 percent in 2019 and hitting 19.05 percent in January of this year.

As of Monday, women in this age category numbered 5.69 million, while men totaled 4.54 million.

This age group constituted 27.18 percent of the population in South Jeolla Province, the highest proportion among major regions. Conversely, the central city of Sejong reported the lowest percentage at 11.57 percent.

In Seoul, the older population made up 19.41 percent of the total populace.

"To effectively address this issue, the establishment of a population-focused ministry is essential for implementing fundamental and systematic response strategies," stated a ministry official in a release.

South Korea has laid out plans to create a new ministry dedicated to population strategy, aiming to tackle its ongoing demographic challenges.