South Korea ‘s , working- time ppulation is projected to reduce by a third in the next two decades, a record wraned Monday, suggesting a bleak outlook for , Asia ‘s , fifth- largest economy which is struggling to find a breakthrough from its previously low birth rate.
The working- age population, which , Seoul , defines as financially effective people aged between 15 and 64, may stand at some 27.17 million by 2044, along by 9.4 million from 36.57 million in 2023, according to a report from the , Asian Peninsula Population Institute for Future, a secret think tank in , Seoul.
Given that there are fewer births in South Korea and that individuals typically live longer, As of 2023,  , South Korea ‘s , delivery rate fell to 0.72, from 0.78 in 2022. The life expectancy in , South Korea , reached 83.6 times in 2023.
The think ship’s report compiled quotes from the Statistics Korea, the , Labor Ministry, the , Bank of Korea, the , Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, among others.
It suggested the number of those admitted to secondary school is projected to cut in half to about 220, 000 in 2033, from some 430, 000 in 2023.
In a nation where all able-bodied men between the ages of 20 and 38 has total military service, the number of eligible people will be enlisted in 2038, lower from 260, 000 in 2023, to 190, 000.
On the other hand,  , South Korea , may see a growing number of dependent old, the report even showed.
The people middle age will jump from 45.5 in 2023 to 50.3 years older in 2031, meaning more than half of the population may be aged 50 or more.
Those aged 65 and over will get up about 40 percent of the total population, with the range rising to 18.91 million by 2050, up from 9.73 million in 2023.
Also, 1 in 5 South Koreans may be aged 80 or older in less than four generations, standing at 8.49 million by 2061, up roughly fourfold from 2023.
By 2047, all 228 local automatic services in , South Korea, including towns, counties and districts, are expected to experience a more than doubling in the number of people aged 65 and older, surpassing the number of people of” childbearing age”, considered as between 20 and 39. These regions have been identified by , South Korea , as “prone to extinction”.
The report also suggested that , South Korea ‘s , total population will continue to shrink, falling below the 40 million mark by 2065, from 51.71 million in 2023.
Also, by 2060 mortality will far exceed fertility, with the number of deaths projected to be five times greater than the number of births. As a result, a total population of 590, 000 will vanish solely in 2060.
According to the KPPIF, the majority of South Koreans today do not understand the magnitude of the population crisis, while businesses are already facing consequences from the issue, including labor shortages, a potential collapse of the domestic consumer market, and long-term stagnation, according to a statement from the organization.
It would take a lot of time and money to restore our society to normal, according to Lee In-sil, president of the KPPIF, “once we miss the “golden time” and lose opportunities to stop the population crisis.”
According to experts in KPPIF’s report, the immigration policy should be put in place right away to welcome and use foreign workers to fill a labor shortage.
Earlier in April, a Statistics Korea report estimated that 8.4 percent of the working- age population could be foreigners by 2042 in a moderate- case scenario, up from 4 percent in 2022.
” We should be ready to embrace foreigners as members of the community”, Lee Hye- kyung, social science professor at , Pai Chai University, was quoted as saying in the KPPIF report.
Lee also noted that Lee needs to take into account various immigration policies, including hiring foreigners as domestic helpers, training those applying for citizenship through the skilled foreign worker visa, and promotion of the regional specialized residency visa.
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( c ) 2024 the Asia News Network
Distributed by , Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
