SEJONG -- South Korean women aged 44.2 on the average as of October, the oldest since the nation compiled the data, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

They have become older by about 12 months than two years earlier in October 2018, when the figure was 43.1. Their average age was 43.7 in October 2019.

Eight of the 17 major areas in the nation saw the average age of their female residents exceed 45 as women’s lifespans lengthen in particular compared to men and the number of births stay at record-low level.

Among the eight areas, women residing in South Jeolla Province topped the list with 48.6, followed by North Gyeongsang Province with 48, Gangwon Province with 47.3, North Jeolla Province with 47.1 and Busan with 46.2.

The next rankers were South Chungcheong Province with 45.5, North Chungcheong Province with 45.4 and South Gyeongsang Province with 45.2.
 

Alongside the simultaneous aging across the nation, the regional gap is widening: Though Sejong -- whose female residents were the youngest among the 17 areas -- also saw the average age gradually climb to 37.9 in October, the corresponding figures in South Jeolla and North Gyeongsang provinces was higher by more than 10 years.

“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 longer lifespan compared to men,” said a demographic researcher.

In terms of the Korean-style age (in which newborns are commonly regarded as a year old, not zero), women’s average age in South Jeolla (48.6) and North Gyeongsang (48.0) has already reached 50. Koreans -- born in December 1972 -- will de facto become 50 years old under the traditional system in January 2021, though they will still be 48 years legally.

Six of the eight major cities posted under the nationwide average of 44.2 -- Seoul with 43.9, Incheon with 43.2, Daejeon with 42.9, Gwangju with 42.4, Ulsan with 42.4 and Sejong with 37.9. Across the country, women outstripped men, who posted 42 on average.

Of 25.99 million in female population as of last month, those in their 70s reached 2.02 million, those in their 80s with 1.11 million, those in their 90s with 193,824 and centenarians with 16,415. Collectively, those aged 70 or over tallied 3.35 million, taking up 12.8 percent of the total.

A decade earlier in October 2010, the portion of those aged 70 or over of the total women stood at 8.8 percent with 2.22 million.

Among 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, South Korea ranked third in women’s life expectancy at birth (85.7 years) in the OECD’s latest findings.

For both men and women, the nation’s average age came to 43.1, compared to 40.4 in October 2015 and 38.1 in October 2010. This indicates that Koreans are older by more than 5 years than a decade earlier.

In Korea, women began to outnumber men in June 2015, when the sex ratio (the number of men per 100 women) fell to 99.9 -- the first time in history it had dropped below 100 since the government began compiling relevant data. In the month, there were 400 fewer male Koreans than female Koreans.

The ratio has further declined by about 0.1 percentage point per annum over the past few years -- to 99.6 in June 2018, 99.5 in June 2019 and 99.4 in June 2020.

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