Koreans Are Living Longer... 8,600 Centenarians, Up Fourfold From 15 Years Ago

[Financial News]  More Koreans are living to an advanced age. The number of people aged 100 or older has topped 8,600 for the first time. That is more than four times the number from 15 years ago. One in five of these centenarians lives alone.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics' survey of people aged 100 and older, the number of centenarians stood at 8,604 as of Nov. 1 last year. That was up 5,445, or 172.4%, from 3,159 in 2015. Compared with 1,835 in 2010, the figure has more than quadrupled.
The average annual growth rate was 10.5%, continuing a downward trend from 13.8% in 2010 and 11.5% in 2015.
Kyung Eun-sook, head of the population census division at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, said, "The survey was conducted by visiting households with people aged 98 and older." She added, "The number of centenarians came to 17.3 per 100,000 people, up 10.9 from 6.4 in 2015."
By gender, women outnumber men by about four to one. There were 7,176 women, or 83.4%, and 1,428 men, or 16.6%.
By province and city, Gyeonggi Province had the most centenarians at 2,052. It was followed by Seoul with 1,268 and North Gyeongsang Province with 559.
Per 100,000 people, South Jeolla Province ranked first with 31.8, followed by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province with 30.4 and Gangwon State with 28.6.
Among cities and counties, Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province had the most centenarians at 188. On a per-capita basis, Goheung County in South Jeolla Province ranked first with 91.8 per 100,000 people.
Most people aged 100 or older live in detached houses, at 48.5%, or apartments, at 41.2%.
Those living with family made up the largest share at 75.1%. Single-person households accounted for 20.7%, while 5.6% lived with a spouse.
Their secrets to longevity are eating less and keeping a regular routine. Among centenarians, the top perceived reasons for long life were a restrained diet, such as eating small portions, at 59.7%, a regular lifestyle at 44.5%, and genetic factors, or a long-lived family, at 32.1%.
Among older adults, 86.9% had never smoked, and 79.6% had never drunk alcohol even once in their lives.

[email protected] Jung Sang-gyun Reporter