Population of young Koreans expected to halve by 2050

Jobseekers look at employment listings during a job fair exclusively for women in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Nov. 21. Yonhap

Korea will see the population of young people decline at an accelerated pace, with the number of those aged 19 to 34 expected to drop by half about 30 years from now, according to a report, Monday.

Released by Statistics Korea, the report on the demographic trend of the young generation forecast that the number of Koreans in that age bracket will dip to 5.21 million in 2050 from 10.21 million in 2020, which is expected to deal a huge blow to the country's economic growth.

The pace of decline has grown more precipitous, with the number falling from 13.85 million in 1990 to 12.88 million in 2000 and 10.97 million in 2010.

Correspondingly, young people now account for a smaller proportion of the country’s total population, and those aged 19 to 34 are estimated to make up only 11 percent of the total number of Koreans by 2050.

The figure will be cut almost in half from 20.4 percent in 2020, in an extended downward trend after peaking at 31.9 percent in 1990.

The gloomy outlook for the young population comes as Asia’s fourth-largest economy faces a demographic crisis characterized by the world’s lowest birth rate and a super-aging society.

 

The crisis is accompanied by a dwindling population across the nation except for Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and western port city of Incheon, with more young Koreans flocking to the capital region in hopes of improving their job and lifestyle prospects.

According to the statistics agency, more than half of those aged 19 to 34 across the country has been living in the Seoul metropolitan area since 2005.

The rate stood at 51.7 percent back then and climbed to 52.7 percent in 2010. It fell slightly to 52.1 percent in 2015 but bounced back to 53.8 percent in 2020.

In the meantime, the high cost of living and other worsening economic conditions apparently hindered young people from getting married.

The report showed 7.84 million of those aged 19 to 34 were not married in 2020. The number accounted for 81.5 percent of the corresponding age group, up from 75 percent in 2015.

By gender, 86.1 percent of men and 76.8 percent of women in that age group were not married in 2020.

Also, 87.4 percent of those aged 25 to 29 were not married, up from 54.2 percent in 2020.

During the same time period, the ratio of Koreans aged 30 to 34 who are not married jumped to 56.3 percent from 18.7 percent.

The number of young Koreans living alone accounted for 20.1 percent of their peer group in 2020, marking a sharp increase from 6.6 percent in 2000.

Some 96.9 percent of the single households in that age group were not married.

Of those living alone in 2020, 55.7 percent said they opted for such a lifestyle due to their careers, while 23.6 percent responded that they simply preferred to live alone. Another 14.8 percent cited school as the main reason for remaining single.

According to levels of education, women led men 58.4 percent to 47.8 percent in the ratio of those who earned college and upper-level degrees in 2020, in the midst of improvements in women’s empowerment in Korean society.