S. Korean life expectancy to reach 79.4 yrs in 2010

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- The average South Korean is expected to live longer by next year, the nation's statistical agency said Thursday, the latest signal that the country is quickly moving towards becoming an aged society.

According to the National Statistical Office, the 2010 South Korean life
expectancy is 79.4 years, compared with 77.5 years in 2005. The latest findings
put South Korea at 22nd in terms of life expectancy out of 101 countries
surveyed.
Females will likely outlive their male counterparts, the report showed. Men are
expected to live for 75.9 years, with women living an average of 82.5 years.
South Korea's life expectancy has been on a steady rise over the past decades. In
1985, it was 66.8 years before growing to 69.8 years in 1990, 72.7 years in 1995
and 74.4 years in 2000.
The figures emerge as the nation is quickly becoming an aged society, in which
more than 14 percent of the population is 65 or older. The nation became an aging
society in 2000, when the ratio exceeded 7 percent.
"Life expectancy has been growing every year, which means that the nation's
population is fast aging," a government official said. "This could dent the
nation's productivity and increase overall welfare expenses down the road,
underlining the importance of countermeasures by the government."
Japan had the highest average life expectancy of 82.7 years, followed by Hong
Kong with 82.2 years. Iceland and Switzerland came next with 81.8 years each, the
NSO said. North Korea's life expectancy, however, remains in the low end of the
surveyed countries, with its 2010 life expectancy at 67.3 years.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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