(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean senior citizens are less satisfied with their lives than other age groups, government data showed Monday, as many cope with poverty compared with younger people.
The 2017 data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that people aged 65 and older had 2.87 points on a scale of 1 to 5 in terms of how they view their quality of life, compared with 3.07 on average for people aged 15 and above. The statistics agency said 5 represents the highest level of satisfaction.
Among old people, those in the low-income bracket had lower life satisfaction of 2.66 points, while one-person male households and one-person female households scored 2.62 points and 2.78 points, respectively.
The poverty rate of South Koreans aged 65 and older stood at 48.8 percent in 2014, the last year that related polls were taken. In comparison, the average poverty rate of old people stood at 12.1 percent in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 36 mostly rich nations.
Still, some one-person households had a higher level of satisfaction if they were more socially engaged, took part in religious services and enjoyed cultural activities.
South Koreans over 65 accounted for 14.3 percent of the country’s population this year, government data showed. It said the group could reach 20 percent of the population by 2025.
(Yonhap)
