S.Korea enters homo-hundred era with super-elderly soaring

South Korea had entered a homo-hundred era, with its super-elderly population soaring in the past five years, a government report showed on Monday.

The number of South Koreans aged 100 or more reached 3,159 as of November last year, up 72.2 percent from 1,835 tallied five years earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

It was much higher than 961 recorded in 2005. The country has a population of over 50 million, among which the portion of the elderly people is expected to keep rising amid the aging population and low birth rate.

According to the United Nations, the global population aged 100 or more would rise from 343,000 in 2013 to 3.2 million in 2050. The figure for South Korea is forecast to gain to 10,000 in 2030 and 20,000 in 2040.

The super-elderly people said their longevity and health were attributable to strict diet, regular lifestyle and regular exercise. Among them, those who had never smoked nor drank alcohol during the life of more than 100 years accounted for 73 percent.

The super-aging population is feared to increase burden for younger generation as young people are required to make more contributions to pension benefits for older generation amid the low birth rate.

The low birth rate would reduce the number of working-age population, which would weaken the countrys purchasing power and weigh down on long-term economic growth.

Many of young South Koreans refrain from, or delay, getting married due to high unemployment rate and stagnant income growth for wage earners. Endit