Life expectancy has increased for more than 20 years, but...Obesity surges, cancer triples
Aug 27, 2025
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This is the result of a survey of major trends in the health sector among '80 years of liberation, changes in Korean society based on statistics' released by the National Statistical Institute of Statistics Korea on the 27th.
First of all, life expectancy is steadily increasing due to economic development and increased access to living standards and medical services.
Life expectancy in 2023 was 83.5 years (80.6 years for men and 86.4 years for women), an average increase of 21.2 years (21.9 years for men and 20.6 years for women) compared to 1970. Thanks to the socioeconomic level and improvement of health care, the age-standardized mortality rate continues to decline.
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The prevalence of obesity increased from 26.0% in 1998 to 37.2% in 2023, while hypercholesterolemia increased from 6.6% in 2005 to 20.9% in 2023. The number of cancer patients, the number one cause of death, increased significantly from 101,856 in 1999 to 282,047 in 2022.
Along with disease patterns and demographic changes, major causes of death are also changing by era, with transportation accidents (4th place) and respiratory tuberculosis (8th place) in 1990, suicide (4th place) and pneumonia (6th place) in 2010, pneumonia (3rd place), suicide (5th place) and Alzheimer's disease (6th place) ranked relatively high in 2023.
It is also notable that suicide deaths have soared due to the economic crisis, polarization, and various social problems. It increased significantly from 8.7 suicide deaths in 1983 (per 100,000 people) to 31.7 in 2011, and has since decreased slightly, reaching 27.3 as of 2023. In particular, the suicide rate of the elderly was 39.0 in their 70s and 59.4 in their 80s and older as of 2023, which is significantly higher than that of other age groups.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
