The number of active enterprises expanded by the largest figure in 10 years last year, mainly bolstered by the real estate boom, data from Statistics Korea showed.

Meanwhile, the enterprise death rate -- the number of enterprises that close their doors permanently in proportion to the population of active enterprises -- was highest among restaurants and lodging businesses.

A total of 913,000 new businesses were created last year, an increase of 4.2 percent from 2016. The enterprise birth rate dropped 0.1 percentage point to 15.1 percent.

A total of 626,000 enterprises went out of business in 2016, with the enterprise death rate reaching 10.8 percent. This was the lowest figure since 2006, when compilation of relevant data began.

The data also showed that 8 out of 10 active businesses had just one employee.

By Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)