The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries says the nation's coastal areas are the most biodiverse in the world.

The ministry released the results of its Basic Survey on Maritime Ecology covering years from 2006 to this year. The survey estimates that  48-hundred-74 marine species live near Korean coastlines and that 56 different oceanic creatures appear in every one thousand square kilometer of territorial sea waters.

In a census of marine life released in 2010 and surveyed by some two thousand marine biologists in 80 countries, South Korea had the highest marine biodiversity rate in the world with 32 species per one thousand square kilometers. 

Korea is also among top nations globally in mudflat biodiversity to the tune of eleven-hundred-41 marine creatures.

A ministry official says Korea's top global standing in marine biodiversity was revealed in the international census, and the latest government survey confirms that the nation's marine diversity is at a higher level than previously known.