Number of farmers, fishermen continues to fall in S. Korea

Published : Sept 28, 2021 - 13:14 Updated : Sept 28, 2021 - 13:14

(Yonhap)

The number of South Koreans in the agrofisheries sector is continuing to fall because of a rapid aging and urbanization trend in the country, government data showed Tuesday.

Households engaging in the farming business totaled 1.03 million last year, down 4.9 percent from 1.08 million tallied in 2015, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The number of farmers also fell to 2.34 million in 2020, compared with 2.56 million tallied in 2015.

In the fishing sector, the number of families fell to 43,000 last year, with the population retreating to 97,000.

The statistics office attributed the drop mainly to the rapid aging of the population, with the younger generation moving to urban areas.

The average age of the head of farming families reached 66.1 last year, up from 65.1 in 2015.

Those aged 65 and over accounted for 42.3 percent of the farming community, the data showed. (Yonhap)