More than one-fifth of South Koreans aged 65 and over in 2025
More than 20 percent of South Korea’s population was aged 65 or older in 2025, underscoring the country’s deepening transition into a “super-aged society,” according to data released on Sunday, Qazinform News Agency cites Yonhap.
Figures from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety show that approximately 10.84 million people were 65 or older last year, representing 21.21 percent of the total population of about 51.11 million. Under United Nations standards, a country is classified as super-aged when more than one-fifth of its population falls into this age group - a threshold South Korea crossed in 2024.
Women accounted for a larger share of the elderly population, with 23.39 percent aged 65 and above, compared with 19 percent among men.
Regional disparities were also evident. In the capital area, seniors made up 18.82 percent of the population, while in other regions the figure reached 23.69 percent. The ministry noted that in 2025, the elderly population exceeded 20 percent in 11 provinces and cities, including Seoul for the first time.
The data further highlighted a continued rise in single-person households. Their number increased by about 1.5 percent from a year earlier to 10.27 million, accounting for roughly 42 percent of all households nationwide.
Older adults made up a significant portion of these households. People aged 70 and above represented 21.6 percent, or 2.21 million, of single-person households, while those in their 60s accounted for 18.9 percent.
Earlier, Qazinform reported foreign residents account for nearly one in ten people in their 20s in Japan.
