Declining employment opportunities in urban areas in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis has slowed the pace of urbanization, but there were still only around 4 million farm workers in 2000, a 16.9 percent drop over the past five years.

Statistics from the National Statistical Office showed that the number of farmers decreased 819,000 to 4,032,000 in 2000 from 4,851,000 five years ago, accounting for 8.7 percent of the total population of 46,125,000.

The number compares with the sharp decrease to 10.9 percent in 1995 from 15.3 percent in 1990.

It is the first time the number of farmers accounted for less than 10 percent of the total population. The NSO noted that the country was nearing the 2 percent to 5 percent level seen in advanced countries.

The agricultural population declined at the annual rate of 350,000 in the past three decades to shrink to 4 million in 2000 from 14.4 million in 1970.