South Korea's economy ballooned more than 600-fold over the past 53 years with national income also surging sharply, a government report showed Monday.
According to the report compiled by the National Statistical Office, South Korea's gross domestic product reached US$ 787.5 billion last year, a huge increase from $1.3 billion in 1953, when the three-year Korean War ended.
The country's national income also shot up to $16,291 per person last year from a meager $67 during the previous period.
The statistical office issued the report to highlight changes in the country's social and economic situations after the liberation from Japan's 35-year colonial rule in 1945.
The country's exports reached $284.4 billion last year, compared with $22 million in 1948. The report also showed that steelmaking, automaking, shipbuilding and IT segments lead the economic growth, while the contribution of the agricultural and fishery sectors to economic growth was reduced.
The country produced a total of 47.82 million tons of steel last year, a surge from 130,000 tons in 1962, and manufactured 3.7 million cars.
As of the end of 2005, a total of 15 million cars were registered, and there were 36.58 million mobile phone subscribers in 2004.
The nation's population was tallied at 48.29 million last year, compared with 20 million in 1949, the report showed.
But the society rapidly aged with people aged 65 years or older accounting for 9.1 percent of the total population last year, up from 3.3 percent in 1955.
The average life span for men and women was 75 years and 85 years, respectively, last year. The corresponding figures for men and women were 59 years and 66 years in 1975.
The report also showed that the number of households in the country reached 15.89 million last year, compared with 3.79 million in 1955. A household consisted of 2.9 people on average last year, and the corresponding figure was 5.5 in 1955, according to the report.
Seoul, Aug. 14 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea's economy grows 606-fold since end of Korean War: report |
