Senior jobseekers fill out paperwork at a senior job fair at held at the Mapo District Office in Seoul on Dec. 10, 2025. - Photo: Yonhap
SEOUL: (Bernama-Yonhap) A little over one in every five South Koreans was 65 or older in 2025, data showed Sunday (Jan 4), as the country moved deeper into the "super-aged society" category, Yonhap News Agency reported.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, some 10.84 million people were aged 65 and older in 2025, accounting for 21.21 per cent of the entire population of about 51.11 million.
Based on the United Nations' demographic classification, a country where over 20 per cent of the population is aged 65 and older is defined as super-aged. South Korea became one in 2024.
Of the entire female population, 23.39 per cent were 65 and older, compared with 19 per cent for the male population in that age group.
By region, the 65-and-over group accounted for 18.82 per cent of the population in the capital area, while the figure was 23.69 per cent in the rest of the country.
The ministry said the seniors had over a 20 per cent share of the population in 11 provinces and cities, including Seoul for the first time.
The ministry's data also showed that the number of single-person households went up by about 1.5 per cent from a year earlier to 10.27 million in 2025 -- accounting for about 42 per cent of all households.
Of the single-person households, 21.6 per cent, or 2.21 million, were people aged 70 and older, while 18.9 per cent were those in their 60s, according to the data. - Bernama-Yonhap
