South Korea's number of deaths hit a record high last year amid the continued COVID-19 pandemic, statistical office data showed Thursday.
The total number of deaths was 372,939 in 2022, up 17.4 percent from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1970.
The number of deaths per 100,000 people increased 17.6 percent to 727.6 last year.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused 31,280 deaths in 2022, surging from 5,030 deaths in the previous year.
The number of deaths for those in their 80s or older jumped 26.3 percent to 200,493 in 2022, accounting for more than half of the total deaths.
The figures for those in their 60s and 70s increased in double digits to 48,998 and 76,621, respectively, last year.
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