South Korea: Declining population and rapid aging: Threat to Economy
Korea:
January 5 NYT pointed out.
North Korea may come to mind first as the main threat to South Korea.
However, pointed out that the more subtle dangers are actually population decline and rapid aging.
Census material released:
Census data showing that South Korea’s population declined for the first time in 2020 was released.
In short, explains that important concerns have surfaced.
Korea Institute of Health and Society: Researcher Lee Sang-lin
“I’m not sure that Korean youth will have a better life in the future,” he said.
This low fertility rate can lead to serious financial difficulties such as labor shortages.
(WoW! Korea) –Yahoo! News
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3b14057c6409ba57a32a0863c66a8ea8bdacca87
As Birthrate Falls, South Korea’s Population Declines, Posing Threat to Economy
Jan. 4, 2021
Think of major threats to South Korea, and its nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea may come to mind.
But a subtler risk to South Korea’s future well-being lies within its borders: a shrinking and rapidly aging population.
The concern
was underscored this weekend with the release of census data that showed South Korea’s population fell in 2020 for the first time on record.
A declining number of newborns
was exceeded by a growing number of deaths, according to census data released by the South Korean government.
a bad signal for replenishing the labor force and caring for retirees and other older people as they become a larger share of society.
The new data from South Korea, while not a surprise,
were nonetheless concerning for a country that in recent decades has become one of Asia’s economic and cultural dynamos.
The census data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety showed that
South Korea’s population
totaled 51,829,023 as of Dec. 31, down 20,838 from the end of 2019.
There were 275,815 births, down 10.65 percent from 2019, and 307,764 deaths, up 3.1 percent from 2019.
The ministry expressed alarm about the implications, saying that
“amid the rapidly declining birthrate, the government needs to undertake fundamental changes to its relevant policies.”
But a growing number of young South Koreans
are still choosing to remain single. When they do marry, they are doing so later in life and usually have only one child, or none at all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/world/asia/south-korea-population.html