A man pushes a trolley with crushed aluminium soft drink cans for recycling in Seoul on Jan 5, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

SEOUL - South Korea's suicide rate rose in 2021 on surging suicides among the elderly population, statistical office data showed Monday.

The suicide rate among South Korean men came to 35.9 in 2021, more than double 16.2 for women

The number of suicides for every 100,000 South Koreans stood at 26.0 in 2021, up 0.3 from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

The suicide rate kept climbing from 13.7 in 2000 to 24.8 in 2005, peaking at 31.7 in 2011. The rate turned downward since 2011, but it bottomed at 24.3 in 2017.

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The higher suicide rate in 2021 was driven by the elderly population, who suffered financial and emotional difficulties amid the insufficient social security system for the elderly and the rising single elderly households who felt lonelier and more depressed without a family to live with.

The suicide rate among those in their 70s reached 41.8 in 2021, with the rate for those in their 80s or older hitting 61.3.

The rate for those in their 20s added to 23.5 in 2021 from 21.7 in the prior year, while the figures for those in their 40s, 50s and 60s hovered around 30.

The suicide rate among South Korean men came to 35.9 in 2021, more than double 16.2 for women.

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The statistical agency noted that South Korea topped the suicide rate list among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development with 25.4 suicides per 100,000 people in 2019.