[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s total population amounted to 51.07 million in 2015, up 2.7 percent, or 1.36 million, from five years earlier, a national census showed on Sept. 7.

The census carried out every five years showed the country’s population grew an average of 0.5 percent annually from 2010 through 2015, Statistical Korea said. In 2010, the population came to 49.71 million.

The annual gain has been steady at 0.5 percent on average since 1995, the agency said.

Out of the total, the number of South Korean nationals reached 49.7 million, while foreign residents who have stayed in the country for at least three months totaled 1.36 million, accounting for 2.7 percent.

The study showed that South Korea is aging at a rapid pace as people aged over 65 years rose 2.2 percent, or 1.21 million, to 6.57 million last year, making up 13.2 percent of all its citizens.

The percentage was 11.3 percent in 2010 and 9.3 percent in 2005.

The median age of the entire population hit 41.2 years, up from 38.2 five years earlier, topping the 40-year line for the first time.

The latest census, in addition, showed the country’s population density stood at 509 people living within a 1-square-kilometer radius, up from 497 tallied five years ago, which was the third highest in the world after Bangladesh and Taiwan.

Also, 49.5 percent, or 25.27 million, of South Korea’s population was living in the capital city area that covers Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, while Busan, the country’s second-largest city on the southeastern coast, was home to 6.8 percent of the population.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)