The number of farming households in South Korea fell below 1 million for the first time ever in 2023, and half of farmers were aged 65 or older, data showed.

The number of farming households came to 999,000 as of December 2023, down 2.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It marked the first time that the figure has fallen below the 1 million mark since 1949 when the agency began compiling related data, though the data has a margin of error of about 10,000 households, the agency said.

The number of farming households has been on a decline due to urbanization and rapid aging.

The population figure also dropped 3.5 percent on-year to 2.09 million in 2023.

Of the population engaged in farming, 36.7 percent, the largest share, were in their 70s and older, followed by those in their 60s and in their 50s. (Yonhap)