By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
The number of foreigners residing in Seoul has more than tripled compared to 10 years ago amid rapid globalization of Korean society, according to Seoul Metropolitan Government Tuesday.
According to the 2007 statistics on Seoul’s various sectors including population, economy, culture and education, the number of foreign residents in the Korean capital rose by 238 percent from 51,776 in 1996 to 175,036 last year, a 3.4-fold increase over the past 10 years.
Based on the total population in Seoul, the portion of foreign residents increased to 1.69 percent last year from 0.49 percent in 1996. This means that one per 50 residents in Seoul is foreigner.
Compared to 2005, the number of foreigners increased by 35 percent or 45,376.
The report also said the number of those aged 65 and over was 787,000, increasing by 67.7 percent or 318,000 from 1996’s 469,000. The portion of the people 65 and over out of total population also rose to 7.6 percent from 4.5 percent 10 years ago.
The number of newborn babies per day marked 258 last year, only 62 percent of 416, the number of 10 years ago, due to low birth rates.
However, the number of newborns per day hiked for the first time last year since 2000. The number increased to 258 in 2006 from 245 in 2005.
The total population of Seoul city last year stood at 10,352,202. It has kept slightly increasing since 2004 _ 10,287,847 in 2004 and 10,297,004 in 2005.
Due to such changes in population structure, the average age of Seoul residents marked 36.1 in 2006, an increase from 31.4 a decade ago.