While Korea remains among leading countries in the world in economic terms, it is at the bottom of indices related to the aging societies, an analysis in the 2010 CIA World Factbook shows.

Among 50 indices covering some 200 countries, Korea was in the top 10 percent in 10 categories -- Internet users, reserves of foreign currency and gold, percentage of AIDS patients, electricity consumption, oil consumption, mobile phone users, and low infant mortality rate. Most of the 11 indices where Korea is placed in the top 10 to 30 percent are in the economic sector -- market value of publicly traded shares, the number of runways, GDP per capita on the basis of purchasing power parity, length of roads, and unemployment.

But the fact that six indices where Korea ranks in the bottom 30 percent include fertility rate, mortality rate and population growth rate shows that the country faces a huge challenge in dealing with an ageing population.