The number of South Koreans in the agro-fishery sector declined 9.5 percent last year from five years earlier amid rapid aging and younger people's movements to cities, data showed Tuesday.

The number of people engaged in the farming and fishery segments totaled 2.64 million last year, compared with 2.92 million in 2015, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

The number of households in the agro-fishery sector came to 1.18 million last year, down 4.5 percent from five years earlier.

The drop was mainly attributable to the country's rapid aging and urbanization trends, according to the statistics agency.

Those aged 65 or older accounted for 42.1 percent of the farming community last year, up from 37.8 percent five years earlier, the data showed. This was far higher than 15.7 percent for the portion of senior citizens of the total population.

South Korea became an aged society in 2017, with the proportion of those aged 65 and older hitting 14 percent of the total population. The country is widely expected to become a super-aged society in 2025, where the percentage of senior citizens reaches 20 percent.

South Korea was a traditionally agricultural society in the past, but younger people have moved to cities for better education and jobs following the country's rapid industrialization in the 1960-70s. (Yonhap)