SEJONG -- Female Koreans are greatly contributing to the situation of the nation heading toward becoming a superaged society, as their average age and life span are far higher than those of men.

According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the number of women aged 70 or over here came to 3.38 million as of June. This age group made up 13 percent (more than 1 in 8 women) of the total female population of 25.9 million.

This contrasted from the portion of men aged 70 or over of the total male population: 9.1 percent (2.35 million) of 25.77 million.

The tally for women in their 70s, 80s, 90s and centenarians reached 2.02 million, 1.15 million, 198,999 and 8,557, respectively.

Those aged 70-79 was comparable to the figure for women aged 10-19 at 2.29 million, and outnumbered female children under 10 at 1.88 million.
 
Further, the tally for women aged 60-69 at 3.57 million far outstripped those in their 30s at 3.28 million and 20s at 3.2 million. The number in their 60s has continued to narrow the gap with women in their 40s at 4.03 million.

A decade earlier in June 2011, the portion of those aged 70 or over of the total women here stood at 9 percent -- 2.29 million of 25.26 million.

Women’s faster aging than men is also seen in the respective average ages: While the average age of Korean women came to the all-time high of 44.6 last month, that of men stayed at 42.3.

South Jeolla Province topped the list with 49 in the average of female residents, followed by North Gyeongsang Province with 48.4, Gangwon Province with 47.7, North Jeolla Province with 47.5, Busan with 46.5 and South Chungcheong Province with 45.9.

While Seoul and Gyeonggi Province recorded 44.1 and 42.5, respectively, Sejong (38.1) is the only region among the eight major cities and nine provinces whose residents’ average age stayed under 40.

A demographic researcher said the data shows that the average female age in some provinces will top 50 within five years. “This reflects the situation that young people have actively moved to metropolitan areas and many female seniors have become widows amid a longer life span compared to men,” he said.

In terms of the Korean-style age -- under which newborns are commonly regarded as a year old, not zero -- women’s average age in South Jeolla Province (49) and North Gyeongsang Province (48.4) has de facto reached 50. Koreans born anytime in 1972 practically became 50 years old under the traditional system in January 2021, though they remain 49 or 48 years legally.

South Korea ranked No. 2 in women’s life expectancy at birth among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in its latest findings.

The OECD defined the life expectancy at birth as how long, on average, a newborn can expect to live if current death rates do not change. Korean female newborns are projected to live 86.3 years on average.

The figure is quite high compared to that of the US (81.4 years) and the UK (83.1). Korea also outstripped France (85.3), Italy (84.7), Sweden (84.2), Canada (84.2), Greece (83.7) and Denmark (83.6).

Only Japan (87.5) posted a higher figure than Korea in the expected life span for girls born in the late 2010s.

In contrast, Korea’s male newborns are projected to live just 80.3 years, a full six years shorter than Korean girls.

Korea is an aged society, as its portion of seniors aged 65 or over exceeds 14 percent (16.7 percent as of June). It is expected to become a superaged society as early as 2024.

A superaged society refers to a nation whose elderly population accounts for 20 percent or more of the entire population, according to the United Nations.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)