Seoul, Jul 11 (IANS): South Korea's population aged 65 and older topped 10 million, coming closer to a super-aged society, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Thursday.

The number of officially registered residents aged 65 or higher reached 10,000,062 on Wednesday, reported Xinhua news agency, citing the interior ministry.

The age group accounted for 19.51 per cent of the total population, which stood at 51,269,012.

The proportion of the elderly continued to go up from 11.79 per cent in January 2013 to 13.60 per cent in January 2017, 15.48 per cent in December 2019, and 17.45 per cent in April 2022.

South Korea drew near to a super-aged society, which refers to a country with more than 20 per cent of the population aged 65 or higher.

Men aged 65 or higher numbered 4,427,682, lower than female peers at 5,572,380.

The elderly living in the Seoul metropolitan area came to 4,489,828, lower than the corresponding figure of 5,510,234 outside the metropolitan area.