South Korea's toy imports have increased at an annual average rate of 20.4 percent over the past five years, government data showed Wednesday.

The increase pushed up imports volume to $637 million last year, from $303 million tallied five years earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.

Local demand for "recreational toys," such as musical instruments for kids, puzzles and toys that require assembly, surged 19.7 percent over the cited period, with the import of dolls and figurines climbing 22.6 percent.

Imports of wheeled toys like bikes rose 24.1 percent on average every year.

The customs office said South Korea imported toys from 87 countries last year, up from 77 countries in 2010.

Chinese imports represented 66.6 percent of all imports last year, with numbers for Denmark reaching 9.6 percent. Mexico, Japan and the United States accounted for 4.1 percent, 4 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

 "While China remains the No. 1 exporter, its overall control of the market has fallen from 72.1 percent in 2010," a KCS official said. (Yonhap)