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Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare released data on the 25th showing that, against the backdrop of an aging population, South Korea added more than 3,000 elderly care and welfare facilities last year compared to 2022. At the same time, affected by the sluggish birth rate, the number of nurseries decreased by nearly 2,000.

South Korean media quoted relevant data and reported that in 2023, there were 93,056 elderly welfare facilities in South Korea, including elderly welfare homes, elderly activity centers, and retirement facilities, an increase of 3.7% from 2022 and 17.2% from 2019.

South Korea's resident registration data shows that as of last year, the number of South Korean citizens aged 65 and over was nearly 9.86 million, an increase of 22.8% from 2019. As of July 10 this year, the number has exceeded 10 million, accounting for about one-fifth of South Korea's total population.

In sharp contrast, there were 28,954 nurseries in operation in South Korea last year, 1,969 fewer than in 2022. Affected by the lower birth rate, the number of nurseries nationwide decreased by 22.5% from 2019 to 2023; during the same period, the number of children in care decreased by 25.9%. (Qiao Ying)