Obesity and Suicide Rates Surge Among People in Their 40s... Red Flag for Society's Backbone

National Data Office Releases "Quality of Life in Korea 2025"

Obesity Rate Approaches COVID-19 Peak

Employment Rate, Job Satisfaction, and Per Capita Income on the Rise

Yonhap News Agency

The obesity rate among South Koreans has reached 38.1%, drawing close to the peak recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 period. The suicide rate has also risen for the second consecutive year, reaching 29.1 per 100,000 people. In particular, both the obesity and suicide rates among people in their 40s, considered the backbone of society, have deteriorated significantly compared to other age groups.

While economic conditions such as employment and income are gradually improving, key indicators of physical and mental health are declining.

According to the "Quality of Life in Korea 2025" report released by the National Data Office on March 5, 2026, the national obesity rate in 2024 stands at 38.1%, up 0.9 percentage points from 37.2% the previous year. This figure is close to the all-time high of 38.3% recorded in 2020, when outdoor activities were heavily restricted due to COVID-19.

By age group, people in their 40s have an obesity rate of 44.1%, which is significantly higher than other age groups, all of which remain below 40%. Among those in their 40s, the obesity rate rose by 6.4 percentage points compared to the previous year, marking the largest increase across all age groups.

The suicide rate in 2024 was 29.1 per 100,000 people, an increase of 1.8 compared to 27.3 in 2023. The suicide rate had dropped below 26 per 100,000 between 2020 and 2022, but it has been on the rise again since 2023.

By age group, the suicide rate increased among those in their 40s (up 4.7), 50s (up 4.0), and 30s (up 3.9) compared to the previous year, while it decreased among those aged 80 and over (down 6.1) and those in their 70s (down 3.4).

The Quality of Life report consists of 71 indicators across 11 domains related to quality of life, including economic indicators such as employment, wages, income, consumption, and assets, as well as health, leisure, and safety.

The National Data Office stated, "This time, there were more deteriorating indicators in the family/community, education, environment, and safety domains, but there were more improving indicators in employment/wages, income/consumption/assets, housing, leisure, and civic participation."

The employment rate in 2025 is 62.9%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from 62.7% the previous year. After dropping from 60.9% in 2019 to 60.1% in 2020, the employment rate has been on a steady upward trend.

Job satisfaction increased from 35.1% in 2023 to 38.3% in 2025, a rise of 3.2 percentage points. This indicator has been continuously improving since 2015.

Per capita gross national income (real amount) in 2024 was 43.81 million won, a 3.5% increase from the previous year.

However, the relative poverty rate in 2024 was 15.3%, up 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.

The proportion of low-wage workers was 16.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous year.

The National Data Office added, "While the proportion of low-wage workers has been steadily declining from 19.0% in 2018 to 16.1% in 2024, Korea’s rate remains higher than Japan’s (10.4%) and the OECD average (12.7%)."

Life satisfaction was 6.4 points in 2024, the same as the previous year. After rising steadily from 5.7 points in 2013, this indicator has plateaued.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.