Older adults play chess at Tapgol Park in central Seoul, July 11. Over 10 million, or about one fifth of Korea's popuation, are aged 65 years or older, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Yonhap

Korea has seen a sharp decline in the number of day care centers and a dramatic jump in the number of facilities for older adults amid a plummeting birthrate and aging population, government data showed, Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's child care statistics from 2023 and the status of welfare facilities for older adults, there were 28,954 day care centers in operation nationwide last year.

The figure is a 6.8 percent decrease from 2022's 30,923. In particular, the number of private day care centers decreased by 840 (8.6 percent) from 9,726 to 8,886, while the number of public ones increased slightly from 5,801 to 6,187 in line with the government policy for more public support for child care.

Nearly 600 small municipalities in rural regions did not have a single day care center. The number of such regions was particularly high in South and North Gyeongsang and South and North Jeolla provinces.

On the other hand, the number of care and welfare facilities for older adults increased from 89,698 in 2022 to 93,056 in 2023, a 3.7 percent rise. It is also a 17.2 percent increase from 2019's 79,382.

According to the nation's resident registration, the number of citizens aged 65 or older stood at 9.85 million as of last year, which is a 22.8 percent jump from 2019's 8.02 million.

As of July 10, the number exceeded 10 million, constituting approximately one-fifth of Korea's total population of 51.6 million.