South Korea’s total population rebounded in 2023 thanks to the growing number of foreign residents after two years of on-year declines, though the country continued to experience falling birth rates and rapid aging, data showed.

The country’s total population rose 0.2 percent, or 82,000, from a year earlier to 51.77 million as of Nov. 1, according to the 2023 census by Statistics Korea.

It marked the first on-year increase in three years. The country logged its first on-year population decline since 1949 in 2021, and the figure slid further by 0.1 percent the following year.

The total population is calculated based on births and deaths data, as well as cross-border movements of foreign residents in Korea. (Yonhap)