The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens in South Korea, topped 1.2 million as of May this year, government data showed Wednesday. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens in South Korea, topped 1.2 million as of May this year, government data showed Wednesday.
The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens, in South Korea has been rising steadily, reaching 1.27 million this year, compared with 1.19 million a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
Of the total, foreign residents aged 15 years or over stand at 1.22 million, with the corresponding figure for naturalized citizens being 53,000, the latest findings showed.
By nationality, Chinese nationals topped the list at 40 percent, with Vietnamese at 10.9 percent, the data showed.
The number of foreign residents who have secured a job in the country totaled 869,000 as of end-May this year, which translates into about 64 percent of foreign residents being employed.
Some 36,000 people who have been naturalized in the past five years also worked, with their economic participation rate standing at 67.6 percent.
Over 40 percent of foreigners staying in South Korea for the long term lived in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province, data by the statistical office showed.
(Yonhap)
