South Korea's population declined for the second straight year in 2022 as the number of Korean nationals fell below 50 million for the first time in four years.

According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, the total population stood at 51-point-69 million as of November 1, 2022, down 50-thousand, or zero-point-one percent, from a year earlier.

After peaking at 51-point-83 million in 2020, the total immediately began to decline the following year for the first time since the state agency began compiling related data in 1949.

The number of Korean nationals totaled 49-point-94 million, down 148-thousand, or zero-point-three percent on-year, while the number of foreigners rose six-point-two percent to one-point-75 million.

The state agency cited the combination of a rise in deaths from COVID-19 and a drop in the birth rate as factors that led to the population decline.

Reflecting the low birth and aging society, seniors aged 65 or older jumped five-point-one percent on-year to a record high of nine-point-15 million, while children up to age 14 dropped three-point-seven percent to a record low of five-point-86 million.