Last year, South Korea's total population increased by around 30,000, marking two consecutive years of population growth. While the number of Korean nationals decreased for the third year in a row, the number of foreign residents rose by about 110,000.
Additionally, the population aged 65 and older increased by about 500,000 compared to the previous year, surpassing the 10 million mark for the first time.
According to the '2024 Population and Housing Census' results released by Statistics Korea on July 29, the total population stood at 51.806 million in 2024, up 31,000 (0.1%) from 51.775 million the previous year. The population grew for the second consecutive year after a 0.2% increase in 2023.
By nationality, Korean nationals numbered 49.763 million, down 77,000 (0.2%) from the year before, while foreigners (2.043 million) increased by 108,00 (5.6%).
Kim Seo Young, head of the Population Census Division at Statistics Korea, explained in a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong, "The overall population increase is due to a rise in foreign residents, offsetting the natural decline in Korean nationals, with contributing factors such as the expansion of the Employment Permit System and a rise in international students."
Meanwhile, with the pace of aging accelerating, the working-age population (ages 15-64) is on the decline. In 2024, the working-age population was 36.263 million, down 283,000 (0.8%) from 36.546 million the previous year. This accounted for 70% of the total population, a 0.6 percentage point drop from 2023.
The senior population (aged 65 and older) reached 10.122 million (19.5% of the total), a 5.3% increase (513,000) from the previous year. This marks the first time South Korea's elderly population surpassed 10 million.
The aging index, which is the number of elderly per 100 youth, was 186.7, up 15.7 points from the previous year. Compared to 2019 (122.3), it rose by 64.4 points.
The youth population (ages 0-14) stood at 5.421 million (10.5% of the total), down 199,000 (3.5%) from 5.619 million in 2023. By gender, the male population was 25.931 million (0.1% increase) and the female population was 25.875 million (0.1% increase). The gender ratio, the number of men per 100 women, was 100.2, up 0.1 points from 100.1 the year before.
The median age of the population was 46.2, up 0.6 years from 45.6 in 2023. The median age is 44.8 for men and 47.8 for women, with women averaging 3.0 years older.
By region, the Seoul metropolitan area had 26.308 million people, up 0.3% from 26.226 million the previous year, accounting for 50.8% of the total population. The central region also grew 0.3% to 7.265 million, while Honam (5.656 million) and Yeongnam (12.577 million) each saw a 0.4% decline.
By province, six regions (Gyeonggi, Incheon, South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, Sejong, and South Jeolla) recorded population growth, while Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan, Gangwon, North Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, and Jeju saw declines. The number of households nationwide increased by 269,000 (1.2%) year-on-year, reaching 22.997 million in 2024.
General households numbered 22.294 million (96.9% of the total), while collective and foreigner households totaled 703,000 (3.1%). The average household size in general households was 2.19 people, down 0.03 from the previous year. Single-person households (8.045 million), two-person households (6.476 million), and three-person households (4.202 million) increased, while four-person or more households (3.571 million) decreased.
Multicultural households increased by 24,000 (5.7%) to 439,000. The disabled population was recorded at 2.61 million, accounting for 5.2% of the Korean national population.
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