Deaths to exceed births in Busan for first time

Schools in Busan (pictured) have already started to suffer from a lack of students. Korea Times file

By Jung Min-ho

The number of deaths this year will exceed that of births in Busan for the first time in decades.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of people who died in the country's second-largest city is estimated to surpass that of those who were born there by nearly 2,000.

The reversal had been predicted last year, when the number of births was 21,500, slightly higher than the number of deaths.

When the number of births was nearly three times bigger only 20 years ago, such a dramatic change was unimaginable.

Schools in Busan have already started to suffer from a lack of students.

According to the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, four schools have closed this year and 25 others will face the same fate by 2022 as they struggle to fill classrooms.

Data from the Korean Education Development Institute show that the number of students at elementary, middle and high schools in Busan has declined in recent years and, for the first time next year, will fall below the number of students in Incheon, Korea's third-largest city.

The number of students in Busan this year is 320,463, a little higher than 320,352 in Incheon.

Even though the student populations are declining in both cities, the pace is faster in Busan. In 2014, Busan had 375,462 students, compared with Incheon's 354,742.

Experts say most big cities in Korea will face declining populations in coming years.