South Korea’s Young Population Expected to Halve in 30 Years

Mon Nov 27 2023
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SEOUL: The number of young South Koreans is expected to halve in coming 30 years amid the rapidly aging population and the record-low birthrate.

According to the country’s statistical agency, the number of those aged 19-34 totaled 10,213,000 in 2020, taking up 20.4 percent of the country’s total population. The number was forecast to drop to 5,213,000 in 2050 after steadily declining from 13,849,000 in 1990 to 12,883,000 in 2000 and 10,967,000 in 2010, according to Statistics Korea.

The percentage of youth to the total population was forecast to decline to 11.0 percent in 2050.

The total fertility rate, or an average number of children a South Korean woman is expected to bear in her lifetime, hit a new low of 0.78 in 2022 amid rapid population aging.

The percentage of unmarried young people to the total youth population swelled to 81.5 percent in 2020 from 75.0 percent five years earlier. The figure has been on the fast rise from 54.5 percent in 2000 to 63.2 percent in 2005 and 68.9 percent in 2010. —Xinhua/APP

 

 

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