The average age of South Korea's population rose over five years to surpass 40 over the past decade.

According to population data from South Korea's Interior Ministry on Sunday, the average age of the population increased five-point-one years to reach 42-point-one years in 2018 from a decade earlier.

The population grew by nearly two-point-three million to 51-point-82 million over the period.

The average age of Korean men rose to 40-point-nine years from 35-point-nine in the cited period, while that of Korean women reached 43-point-two years last year, up from 38-point-two in 2008.

The number of Korean men had been larger than that of women, but it shifted for the first time in 2015, and the number of women has been higher since.

Last year, the ratio of men to women reached point-996, and it may reach point-99 this year, given the growing number of women relative to men.