South Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10 million by 2044 as country grapples with population crisis

As South Korea continues to struggle with an ageing population, government data reflected that the country’s economically active population is anticipated to plunge by nearly 10 million by 2044. The jarring prediction is being made keeping South Korea’s critically low birth rate in mind.

According to a report published by the Korean Peninsula Population Institute for the Future, the number of people aged between 15 and 64 stood at 36.57 million in 2023. However, this number is projected to go down to 27.17 million in 2044, Yonhap reported.

The report also stated that the number of elementary school freshmen, which came to 430,000 last year, is set to nearly halve to 220,000 in 2033 and the number of deaths is set to reach 746,000 in 2060.

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The threat of natural population decline looms 

The body warned that all this would lead to a natural population decline of 590,000. South Korea’s population which is estimated at 51.71 million in 2023, was forecast to drop to 39.69 million by 2065.

“The decline in the economically active population will damage consumption, leading to the collapse of the domestic market. It will also increase the burden of supporting the senior population, leading to an economic slowdown and prolonged low growth,” the institute said in the report.

In recent years, the country has been grappling with a chronically low birth rate, recording a sharp decline in the total fertility rate as well. In 2023, the average number of children expected to be born per woman over her lifetime reached a record low of 0.72.

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The figure to maintain a stable population without adding the immigration figure is 2.1 births per woman. By February this year, only 19,362 babies were born. This marked the lowest number for any February birth rate since the statistics agency began collecting data in 1981, Yonhap reported.

South Korea is not alone 

South Korea is not the only country which is currently suffering through a population decline. Earlier this year, it was reported that the number of babies born in Japan fell for an eight-year straight in 2023. According to the government data released in February, the number of birth rate in 2023 fell 5.1 per cent from a year earlier to 758,631.

Not only this the number of marriages also slid to 5.9 per cent 489,281 – the first time in 90 years the number fell below 500,000. When asked about the latest data, Japan’s top government spokesperson stated that the government will take “unprecedented steps” to cope with the declining birthrate, such as expanding childcare and promoting wage hikes for younger workers, Reuters reported. The issue of population decline also persists in China as well.

With inputs from agencies.