Seoul: Cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia were among the key causes of death for South Koreans in 2024, data showed Thursday, with suicide remaining the top factor among those in their 40s and younger.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the total number of deaths reported in the country came to 358,569, marking an increase of 1.7 percent from the previous year. The data from Statistics Korea indicated that 702.6 deaths were recorded per 100,000 South Koreans last year, reflecting a 1.9 percent rise from the year before.
The report highlighted that cancer accounted for 24.8 percent of total deaths in 2024, followed by heart disease at 9.4 percent and pneumonia at 8.4 percent. Collectively, these three causes were responsible for over 42 percent of total deaths in the country.
Suicide, meanwhile, was identified as the fifth-biggest cause of death for South Koreans, contributing to 4.1 percent of the total death toll. A total of 14,872 individuals took their own lives last year, representing a 6.3 percent increase from the previous year. It was the leading cause of death for individuals aged between 10 and 49 and the second-biggest cause for those in their 50s.
South Korea continues to hold the highest suicide rate among the countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), standing at 26.2 per 100,000 people in 2024, which is significantly higher than the OECD average of 10.8.