SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's population is estimated to have increased slightly in 2010 from a year earlier, despite its hardships stemming from a chronic food shortage, a report said Tuesday.

   The communist country's population came to an estimated 24.19 million last year, compared with 24.06 million the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea, South Korea's statistical agency. The estimate is based on an analysis of the results of North Korea's census.

   The agency said overall living conditions in North Korea don't seem to have improved in the past decade with the average life expectancy remaining below the level in the early 1990s.

   According to the report, the average North Korean man and woman had a life expectancy of 64.1 years and 71.0 years, respectively, in 2008. Comparable figures were 67.0 years and 74.1 years each in 1993.

   About 70 percent of the population over 16 or 12.19 million people were engaged in economic activities, with 36.0 percent working in the agricultural sector. This was followed by 23.7 percent engaged in manufacturing and 20.3 percent in public service areas.

   Despite a relatively high percentage of population engaged in economic activities, only 7.3 percent of people over 60 worked, a sign that most North Koreans retire early.

   Of the population, 60.6 percent lived in cities in 2008, up from just 40.6 percent in 1960, with the average man and woman getting married at 29.0 years and 25.5 years each.

   Despite more people living in urban areas, coal and wood remained the main sources of heating, the report said.

   yonngong@yna.co.kr
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