SEOUL — South Korea's population aged 65 and older topped 10 million, coming closer to a super-aged society, the interior ministry said Thursday.

The number of officially registered residents aged 65 or higher reached 10,000,062 on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The proportion of the elderly continued to go up from 11.79 percent in January 2013 to 13.60 percent in January 2017, 15.48 percent in December 2019, and 17.45 percent in April 2022

The age group accounted for 19.51 percent of the total population that stood at 51,269,012.

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The proportion of the elderly continued to go up from 11.79 percent in January 2013 to 13.60 percent in January 2017, 15.48 percent in December 2019, and 17.45 percent in April 2022.

South Korea drew near to a super-aged society that refers to a country with more than 20 percent of the population aged 65 or higher.

Men aged 65 or higher numbered 4,427,682, lower than female peers at 5,572,380.

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The elderly living in the Seoul metropolitan area came to 4,489,828, lower than the corresponding figure of 5,510,234 outside the metropolitan area.