The National Data Agency said on the 8th that in November last year, the share of migrants in Korea's total population topped 5% for the first time. Migrants, referred to in official statistics as people with a migration background, include those with foreign nationality, those who obtained South Korean nationality through naturalization, and second-generation immigrants who hold South Korean nationality.
According to the National Data Agency, as of Nov. 1 last year, the migrant population in the country was 2,715,000, up 5.2% (134,161) from a year earlier. While Korea's total population grew 0.1%, migrants increased at a much faster pace.
Of the migrants, 75.2% (2,043,000) are people with foreign nationality living in South Korea. That figure rose 5.6% from a year earlier. The remaining 24.8% (672,000) either obtained South Korean nationality through naturalization or are second-generation immigrants with one foreign parent who received South Korean nationality. They also increased 4.1% from a year earlier.
Among migrant children and adolescents age 24 and under, those with parents of Vietnamese nationality accounted for the largest share at 27.2% (201,000). They were followed by China at 16.5% (122,000) and ethnic Koreans from China at 12.0% (88,000). Among naturalized migrants, those with parents of Chinese nationality made up the largest share at 34.5%. Among second-generation immigrants, the share with parents from Vietnam was high at 33.3%.
By age, those 15 to 64, the working-age population, accounted for 81.9% (2,223,000) of migrants. That was up 5.7% from a year earlier. People in their 30s were the largest group at 24.3% (660,000), followed by those in their 20s at 21.0% (570,000) and those in their 40s at 15.4% (419,000). Among them, people in their 20s increased by 8.0% (42,000) from a year earlier, the fastest growth among all age groups.
By gender, 52.5% of migrants are men and 47.5% are women. While foreigners and second-generation immigrants skew male, those who obtained South Korean nationality through naturalization skew female. In addition, 56.8% of migrants live in the greater Seoul area. Gyeonggi accounted for the largest share at 32.7% (887,000), followed by Seoul at 17.5% (475,000) and Incheon at 6.6% (180,000).