SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's elderly poverty rate remained high in 2021 despite the continued slide for the past decade, Yonhap news agency said Thursday citing statistical office data.
The relative poverty rate among those aged 65 or older stood at 37.6 percent in 2021, down 1.3 percentage points from 38.9 percent in the previous year.
The rate refers to the percentage of people with a disposable income below 50 percent of the median income.
After peaking at 46.5 percent in 2011, the elderly poverty rate had roughly been on the decline to 46.3 percent in 2013, 43.2 percent in 2015, 42.3 percent in 2017 and 41.4 percent in 2019, before falling below 40 percent for the first time in 2020.
The downward trend came as the country introduced the basic pension for senior citizens in 2014, but the country's elderly poverty rate was about 1.8 times higher than an average 13.5 percent among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The country's relative poverty rate for those aged 18-65 was 10.6 percent in 2021.
South Korea became an aged society in 2017 when the percentage of those aged 65 or older surpassed 14 percent of its total population. The country was expected to be a super-aged society in 2025 with the percentage topping 20 percent. ■
