Jobseekers look at postings during a job fair for the senior citizens in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in this photo taken in November 2023. Newsis

Nearly one in three elderly Koreans living alone have no one to talk to, as more senior citizens are living longer but often find themselves isolated after the death of a spouse and other family members, according to data, Thursday.

Data released by Statistics Korea also revealed that more than half of individuals aged 65 or older who live alone are not well-prepared for the remainder of their lives.

The data was released amid Korea's rapid aging, with senior citizens comprising 19.2 percent of the country's 51.75 million population this year.

The country is expected to become a super-aged society by 2025, with senior citizens making up 20 percent of the population.

And by 2072, the proportion of older adults out of the entire population is estimated to reach 47.7 percent.

As of 2022, the remaining life expectancy for individuals aged 65 was estimated at 20.7 years on average, which is approximately one year higher than the average for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member nations.

Under the circumstances, the stats agency's data showed the number of households headed by senior citizens stood at 5.65 million this year, accounting for 26.5 percent of all households nationwide.

Of the 5.65 million households, 37.8 percent of them were one-person households.

Among single-person households headed by seniors, 32.6 percent reported having no one to talk to.

Some 34.8 percent of single-person households reported having no one to turn to for help when they were sick or needed support with household chores. Additionally, 71 percent indicated they had no one to borrow money from when they were financially strained.

Approximately 18.7 percent of single-person households reported experiencing all three of the aforementioned problems.

When asked if they were financially prepared for their later years, 55.8 percent of senior citizens living alone answered "no."

Some 50 percent of them said they solely rely on the state-run pension to sustain a living.

With regard to quality of life, 47.8 percent of the senior citizens who live by themselves said they were "unsatisfied" with their income, compared to 20.7 percent who were satisfied.

Of the elderly people who constitute single-person households, women account for 69 percent compared to 31 percent for men.

Those in their 70s accounted for 40.3 percent of the senior citizens who live alone. Those aged between 65 to 69 made up 30.1 percent, and those in their 80s accounted for 29.6 percent.