Per Capita GNI Rises 300-Fold to $20,000 in 6 Decades
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world when it became an independent state on Aug. 15, 1948, three years after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Over the past 60 years, however, it has risen from the ashes of the Korean War and became the world's 13th largest economy, playing an increasingly important role on the international stage.
The nation's per-capita gross national income (GNI) stood at $20,045 last year, a 299-fold increase from $67 in 1953, according to Korea Statistics Promotion Institute. Gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services produced in the country, has expanded an average 6.8 percent since the end of the Korean War. It rose 746-fold to $970 billion in 2007 from $1.3 billion in 1953.
``The Philippines was richer than Korea in the 1960s. Its per capita GDP was $254 in 1960, larger than Korea's $79. But the Southeast Asian nation has never been able to transform itself into an industrialized economy, remaining as an agriculture-based one. Its per-capita GNI was $1,484 in 2006, only one-thirteenth of Korea's,'' the institute said.
The nation's trade volume increased 3,167-fold to $728.3 billion in 2007 from $230 million in 1948. Korea shipped goods worth $371.5 billion last year, up from only $220 million 60 years ago, while imports rose to $356.9 billion from $208 million over the same period.
As the economy grew, consumer prices have also increased 10,710-fold over the past 60 years. In particular, bus fares rose more than 20,000-fold. The nation's land expanded 6.5 percent to 99,720 square kilometers last year from 93,634 square kilometers in 1949 thanks to a number of reclamation projects, mostly on the western coast.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of Koreans in their 20s and 30s are putting off marriage and getting married at an older age mainly due to financial hardship amid the tight job market. Particularly, more women have become reluctant to tie the knot as they focus more on pursuing their careers and enjoying single life than having a family.
The average age for female's getting married for the first time rose to 28.1 in 2007 from 24.8 in 1990. Married couples consisting of a younger man and older woman accounted for 13 percent of the total last year, up from 8.8 percent in 1990.
Despite rising state spending aimed at caring for the elderly, the number of people aged over 65 who live alone has increased sharply over the years.
The number of nursing homes and other welfare facilities for the elderly increased five-fold to 1,166 nationwide in 2006 from 247 in 2000. But about 6.2 percent of Koreans aged over 65, or 172,000, lived alone in 2005, up from 1.8 percent in 1985.
People aged over 65 accounted for 9.9 percent of the total population, up from 3.3 percent in 1955, highlighting a population that is rapidly aging and a fall in birthrates. Korea's population has more than doubled, from 20 million in 1949 to 48.45 million in 2007.
The average life expectancy of Koreans stood at 79.2 years in 2007, up from 61.9 years in 1970, while the number of newborns was halved to 497,000 from 1 million over the same period.
The number of households engaged in agriculture dropped more than 50 percent to 1.23 million last year from 2.47 million in 1949. Salaried households in urban areas earned a monthly average of 3.67 million won in 2007, up from 5,990 won in 1963, while spending rose to 2.35 million won, up from 6,070 won.