According to the 2017 data from Statistics Korea, people from multicultural backgrounds residing in the country totaled 1,861,084 as of Nov. 1, 2017, up 96,420, or 5.5 percent, from a year ago. 　The number, which accounts for 3.6 percent of the country’s total population of 51,422,507, broken down to 1,479,247 long-term foreign residents (79.5 percent), which includes migrant workers; 212,302 children who were born in the country (11.4 percent); and 169,535 naturalized citizens (9.1 percent).　C

　Exposure to toxic air both indoors and out kills some 600,000 children under the age of 15 each year, the World Health Organization warned Monday.　Data from the UN health body shows that every day, 93 percent of children under the age of 15 -- a full 1.8 billion youngsters, including 630 million under the age of 5 -- breath dangerously polluted air.　According to WHO data, more than 9 out of 10 people on the planet breathe dangerously toxic air, causing some 7 million premature deaths each year.

　South Koreans rank first among major economies in terms of visits made to hospitals in 2016, government data showed.　According to the data by the National Health Insurance Service, South Koreans visited the doctor's office an average of 17 times in 2016, much higher than the average of 6.9 times by citizens of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries.　Japan came in second with 12.8 visits, with Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany rounding out the top

　The number of South Koreans who owned land in the country jumped 10.3 percent in 2017 from 2012, government data showed.　The data compiled by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that 16.9 million South Koreans owned 46,968 square kilometers of land -- slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey -- at the end of last year, accounting for 32.6 percent of the 51.7 million population.　In comparison, 15.32 million South Koreans owned 47,504 square kilometers of land in 2012, the

　Internet usage has grown all over Asia with China, India and Indonesia leading the way, according to recent data released by the Internet World Stats.  　The internet has grown widely in all parts of the world in what is termed as the digital age. Asia has shown impressive growth trends in the last 10 years. South East Asia has seen the most penetration with China leading the way. In the last decade China has grown tremendously by providing internet from 22 million people to 772 million people i

　Indonesia had named most generous country in the world followed by Australia in second place and New Zealand in third place, according to the British charity, Charities Aid Foundation. 　South Korea ranked 60th.　A total of 146 countries in the world were ranked in three areas: Giving of time, money and helping a stranger. More than 150,000 people worldwide were polled.

　China leads the region in hydropower capacity, followed by India and Japan.　According to the recent Hydropower Status Report, East Asia and the Pacific region have the highest annual increases in hydropower capacity, with China contributing the largest share of installed capacity. Over 90 percent of the capacity added in 2017 in the region came from China, which increased its total installed capacity to 341,190 megawatts.　Japan is second in the region with an installed capacity of 49,905 MW. It

　The number of domestic violence cases reported to police was 279,082 in 2017 - a surge of 74 percent from the 160,272 cases recorded in 2013, data released by the National Police Agency showed.　In the 2013-2017 period, 1.16 million cases of domestic violence and abuse were reported to police but offenders were arrested in only 13 percent of them, the NPA data said.　The number of arrests for domestic violence more than doubled from 16,785 in 2013 to 38,583 last year, with the proportion resultin

　According to analysis of an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report titled "Education at a Glance 2018," South Korea's figure for children between the ages of 3 and 5 in state-run preschools stood at 21.1 percent in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 66.9 percent.　With the figure, South Korea ranked 32nd among the 35 member states. The countries behind it were Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, likely due to their having many other regional and religious child care faci

　For the fourth year running, Stanford University tops Reuters' ranking of the World's Most Innovative Universities, a list that identifies and ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and power new markets and industries.　While a few UK- and Asia-based schools have ascended, American universities continue to lead the ranking. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, places second on the list, and Harvard University comes in thi

　The number of female executives at South Korea's top 100 companies doubled from five years ago to more than 200, but the increase in the ratio to the total number was still paltry, at 3.2 percent, the latest figures showed.　Analysis by market researcher Korea CXO Institute counted 216 women in the C-suite. Members from corporate ownership families and outside members of boards of directors were excluded from the count. 　The number marks a doubling from over 100 reached in 2013, and the first ti

　Online shopping sites are losing visitors, whose numbers have fallen some 14 percent over the past two years, industry data showed.　The six major online shopping malls had 77.97 million visitors in September, down from 83.86 million in the same month last year. Compared with 90.89 million in September 2016, the latest figure represents a 14.2 percent drop.　Of all the companies, TMON showed the biggest decline during the two-year period, with a loss of 25.6 percent. This was followed by 11st, wh

　The economic cost of climate-related disasters hit $2.25 trillion over the last two decades, an increase of more than 150 percent compared to the previous 20 years, the UN said Wednesday. 　The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction noted that "climate change was increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events" such as floods and storms.  　Between 1978-1997, total losses from climate-related disasters was $895 billion, UNISDR said in a report based on data compiled by

　Life expectancy in 2040 is set to rise at least a little in all nations, but the rankings will change dramatically, with Spain taking the top spot while China and the United States trade places, researchers said.　With a projected average lifespan of nearly 85.8 years, Spain - formerly in fourth place - will dethrone Japan, which sits atop the rankings today with a lifespan of 83.7 years, and will drop to second place in 2040.　In a shift that will be seen by some to reflect a superpower changing

　South Korea's rice output is expected to fall slightly in 2018 from the previous year due to bad weather conditions during the harvest season and a decline in rice paddies, government data showed.　The country's rice production is forecast to decline to some 3.87 million tons this year, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The 2018 estimate is well below the five-year average of some 4.2 million tons.　A total of 738,000 hectares of rice paddie

　The overall number of hospital beds and medical equipment in South Korea exceeded other major economies, while the number of doctors was lowest, data has showed.　South Korea had an average of 12 beds per every 1,000 people in 2016, compared with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average of 4.7, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Service.　On the other hand, Korea had just 2.3 doctors per every 1,000 people in

　The number of single-person households continued to rise in South Korea last year.　According to data compiled by Statistics Korea, households consisting of a single member totaled 5.62 million in 2017, compared with 5.39 million the previous year. This accounted for 28.6 percent of all households in the country, up 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier.　The percentage of those living alone has been on a sharp rise for decades, hitting 20 percent in 2005 for the first time, compared to 4.8 pe

　The proportion of children using national and public kindergartens and child care centers is expected to remain far short of 40 percent, the government's target, official data showed. 　President Moon Jae-in earlier set a goal to expand government support for parents with young children, vowing to more than triple the proportion of infants and toddlers looked after by publicly run centers within his term in office.　As part of the effort, the government increased the number of centers by 373 in 2

　At least 73 journalists and media staff were killed around the world in the first 10 months of the year, according to the International Federation of Journalists.　The deadliest countries were Afghanistan with 15 killed and Colombia with eight. In addition, the deaths of journalists have recently gone beyond war zones and areas of conflict.　The number of journalists who have been killed, detained, held hostage or have disappeared has risen steadily.　

　According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the number of people aged 65 years or older reached 7.38 million in 2018, accounting for 14.3 percent of the country's total population.　The employment rate for those aged between 55 and 59 was 72.6 percent in 2017, compared to 70.6 percent in 2015 and 66.5 percent in 2010.　The comparable figure for those aged between 60 and 64 stood at 60.6 percent in 2017, rising from 59.6 percent in 2015 and 53.7 percent in 2010, the latest findings showed.