S. Korea's population to top 50 million by late 2010

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's population has increased by more than 200,000 annually over the past five years and is expected to top 50 million at the end of next year, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said Sunday.

According to government data released by the ministry, the nation's population
totaled 49,540,367 -- 24,822,897 men and 24,717,470 women -- as of Jan. 1 of this
year, marking a year-on-year increase of 271,439.
The number of registered residents in South Korea has steadily increased over the
past five years, rising from 48.38 million in 2004 to 48.58 million in 2005,
48.78 million in 2006 and 48.99 million in 2007, the ministry noted.
At the current pace of population growth, the number of the nation's registered
residents is projected to exceed the landmark 50 million at the end of next year,
it forecast.
It added that Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, is the nation's most
populous region with 11.29 million registered residents, followed by Seoul with
10.21 million and Busan with 3.56 million.