The number of regions outside the capital area where more than ten-thousand foreigners reside, or at least five percent of the region's population, sharply rose in 2023 compared to a year earlier.

A report by the Migration Policy and Research Center on Tuesday, citing data from the interior ministry, said there were two-point-46 million foreign residents as of November 2023 who were staying in the country for at least three months.

The tally was the highest since the ministry began compiling related data in 2006.

Foreigner concentrated residential areas with at least ten-thousand foreigners, or five percent of the total, meanwhile, jumped 31 percent on-year to 127 in 2023, which is more than half the nation's 229 cities, districts and counties.

Also worth noting is that the number of such concentrated areas outside the capital region more than tripled from 24 in 2016 to 79 in 2023.

The number of foreigners in the capital area, 27-thousand-538, however, was around three times compared to the number elsewhere at nine-thousand-391.