South Korea becomes aged society with fall in working-age population

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- South Korea has officially become an aged society at a faster rate than any other developed country.

The number of the elderly population aged 65 or older has increased to consist of 14 percent of the total population, the threshold that officially names society "aged," according to the 2017 state population census.

The elderly population exceeds the youth population aged between 0 and 14, at 13 percent.

The number of working-age population, aged between 15 and 64, declined for the first time, casting a shadow on the country's labor productivity.

The median age of the South Korean population rose from 41 in 2016 to 42 in 2017.

It took Japan 24 years for the share of its population aged 65 or older to rise from 7 percent to 14 percent and 100 years for France, according to WHO.

For Korea, it took 17 years since the percentage of the elderly population was 7 percent in 2000.

More South Koreans live alone or in smaller families.

The number of households, which consist of one or two people, make up 55 percent of the population. Those aged 65 or older consist of 24 percent of the total one-person households.