Population is national power

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 15:19

Editorial

Population is national power

Posted : 2011-05-31 17:32

Updated : 2011-05-31 17:32

Public debate needed to increase populace

Demographers project that the United States will continue to be the world's most dynamic country as its population will grow by 100 million by 2050. They estimate that China and Japan have limits in overtaking the United States in terms of growth due to their rapidly-aging population. Korea and Japan will be among the few countries that will see a decline in population. They say that population is national power.

If this assumption is correct, Korea is heading toward a declining stage as it is one of the fastest aging societies with a low birth rate.

Statistics Korea reported that 11 out of every 100 Koreans are senior citizens aged over 65. In just five years, the senior population rose by 24.3 percent. All cities and provinces have become aging societies as elderly folks account for more than 7 percent of the population.

The southwestern South Jeolla Province has already transformed into a rapidly-aging society with seniors accounting for 20 percent of its population.

The OECD reported that seniors will comprise 34.4 percent of the Korean population by 2050.

The potential growth rate will fall to the 1-percent range by 2030 from the current 4-percent range, purely because of the graying of the population. The government can maintain the economic dynamism by ensuring that the seniors prove to be less of a burden and more of an efficient manpower reserve for the Korean economy.

It is no consolation that the population increased by 2.28 percent to 48.6 million last year from 2005. Most of the increase came from the influx of foreign nationals. Korea has indeed begun a trend toward declining population.

Increasing the birth rate is a magic solution. Korea has one of the world's lowest birth rates, with a fertility rate of 1.22 for every woman, well below the OECD’s average of 1.71.

The government has unveiled programs to boost the birth rate with little success so far. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs proposed that the government prioritize the population policy as a top national agenda.

It advised the government to form a social consensus that work and family life can be more compatible as a means of encouraging a higher birth rate. The proposal is based on a survey that 72.1 percent of career women complain that Korean society is not ready to provide institutional help to working moms. It said such social magnanimity is more effective to parents than state subsidies.

An alternative plan is to adopt a proactive immigration policy. The other option is to seek a reunification between the two Koreas. A reunified Korea will continue to make the Korean Peninsula a vibrant and dynamic society on a long-term basis although the short-term effect will be painful.

An active public debate about increasing the population now will prevent a dire consequence socially and economically.

Now is the time for Korea to think what it will be like four or five decades later.

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