Sales of diapers for adults are on the rise as Korea's population ages dramatically, and they now outsell those for babies.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Tuesday, 112,000 tons of adult disposable diapers were produced and imported in 2021, up from 86,000 tons in 2019.
But the figures for baby disposable diapers dropped from 76,000 tons in 2019 to 69,000 tons in 2020 and then kept falling, so adult diapers outsold baby nappies 1.6 times in 2021.
The ministry speculated that there are many active seniors who do not mind wearing diapers for outdoors activities and not just sufferers from incontinence due to illness.
Industries catering to the elderly are expected to grow rapidly as the proportion of over-65s in the population, which stood at 17.5 percent last year, reaches an estimated 46.4 percent by 2070.
