{"id":43231,"date":"2025-02-25T10:46:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T09:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/?p=43231"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:48:11","slug":"south-korea-faces-an-unprecedented-demographic-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/south-korea-faces-an-unprecedented-demographic-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea faces an unprecedented demographic crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>South Korea is fast becoming one of the world&#8217;s oldest societies. According to Statistics Korea projections, almost half of South Korea&#8217;s population will be aged 65 and over by 2072. This rapid ageing in South Korea, combined with a historically low birth rate, is leading to a gradual decline in the population and raising major economic and social challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">South Korea: an accelerating ageing population<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2023, <strong>South Korea&#8217;s population stood at 51.71 million<\/strong>, with <strong>18.2% aged 65 and over<\/strong>. By 2072, this figure is set to rise to 47.7%, or 17.27 million people. At the same time, the total population is set to fall to 36.22 million,<strong> a drop of over 30% <\/strong>in less than fifty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.silvereco.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/South_korea_population_pyramid_1960-2020-1.gif\" alt=\"Ageing South Korea\" class=\"wp-image-1699006\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">cr\u00e9dits : sdgedfegw \u2014 Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=94574241<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to the global average, <strong>this transformation is spectacular<\/strong>. The percentage of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/south-korea-seniors-persona-non-grata-in-some-coffee-shops\/\">elderly people<\/a><\/strong> in the global population will rise from 10.2% in 2024 to 20.3% in 2072, while South Korea&#8217;s percentage will increase from 19.2% to 47.7% over the same period. This rapid transition places the country among the <strong>world&#8217;s oldest societies<\/strong>, alongside Hong Kong and Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Historically low birth rate in South Korea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The fertility rate<\/strong> in South Korea reached a record low in 2023, at just<strong> 0.72 children per woman<\/strong>. This is well below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain the population. The downward trend has been observed for several decades: while the country still recorded 640,000 births in 2000, this number fell to 230,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This situation is the result of <strong>several structural factors<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The high cost of education and housing<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A highly competitive work culture<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor work-life balance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The disproportionate burden of domestic chores falling on women<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.silvereco.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/administratif-complexe-papiers_673051363-1024x666.jpg\" alt=\"debt, Ageing South Korea\" class=\"wp-image-1698994\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Despite major government initiatives <\/strong>to encourage childbirth, such as financial aid and subsidies for oocyte freezing, results remain limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A major economic and social impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The decline in the number of working-age people <\/strong>(15-64) and the increase in the number of retirees are jeopardizing the country&#8217;s economic model. <strong>The working-age population is set to fall to 16.58 million by 2072<\/strong>, compared with 36.57 million in 2023. This reduction will have a direct impact on economic growth, productivity and the financing of pension systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The dependency ratio, which measures <strong>the number of dependents<\/strong> (aged 0-14 and 65+) in relation to the working population, is expected to reach<strong> 118.5% in 2072<\/strong>, compared with 42.5% in 2024. This figure reflects the growing pressure on <strong>younger generations to support the aging population<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.silvereco.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2-14-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Ageing South Korea\" class=\"wp-image-1698985\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Initiatives to reverse the trend<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Faced with this crisis, <strong>South Korea has implemented several strategies<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Policies to support the birth rate<\/strong>: financial aid for parents, childcare subsidies, extended parental leave.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improving work-life balance<\/strong>: flexible working arrangements, incentives for companies to encourage parenthood.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pension system reforms<\/strong>: incentives to employ older people and overhaul of the pension system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Attractiveness of immigration<\/strong>: although currently limited, opening up to immigration could become a solution to compensate for the decline in the working population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ageing in South Korea: an uncertain future<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these measures, <strong>South Korea&#8217;s demographic situation remains alarming<\/strong>. The country&#8217;s population could fall to 39 million by 2067, with a median age of 62. The transition to a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/south-korea-when-artificial-intelligence-calls-and-checks-on-isolated-elderly-people\/\">\u201csuper-aged society\u201d<\/a><\/strong> raises crucial questions about the country&#8217;s <strong>economic, social and cultural future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If South Korea is to avoid irreversible decline, <strong>it will have to step up its efforts to encourage the birth rate<\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/in-south-korea-retirement-is-weighing-down-the-economy\/\">adapt its economic model to ageing<\/a><\/strong>, and rethink its immigration and employment policies. The country&#8217;s ability to adapt to these challenges <strong>will determine its long-term future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>#SouthKorea faces an unprecedented #demographic #crisis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":43233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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faces an unprecedented #demographic 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