Government data shows that the number of people living in Seoul declined by nearly 770-thousand over the past decade.

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the capital’s total population marked nine-point-42 million as of last year, down 767-thousand, or seven-point-five percent, from 2012.

The drop is the largest among the country’s 17 municipalities during the period, followed by Busan with six-point-two percent and Daegu with five-point-seven percent.

Seoul accounts for 18-point-three percent of the country’s total population of around 51-point-four million.

Experts assessed the decline in the population of the country’s most inhabited city to be driven by an exodus to surrounding areas as people search for more affordable and bigger housing in the wake of soaring real estate prices over the past few years.