ID :
358983
Wed, 03/04/2015 - 01:12
Auther :

Working population supporting more elderly as society ages: data

SEJONG, March 3 (Yonhap) -- The number of elderly people being supported by the country's working age population has surged threefold in the last 40 years, statistical data showed Tuesday, casting urgency in reforming pension and welfare programs. According to Statistics Korea, the number of elderly citizens over 65 reached 18.12 for every 100 people in the working age group. The office defines the working age population as people between the ages of 15 to 64. This is the largest ratio of elderly people to the working population since the government started compiling related data in 1970. In 1975, there were 5.95 aged people for every 100 workers, with numbers rising to 8.33 in 1995 and 12.96 a decade later. As of 1975, there were some 1.2 million people over 65 in South Korea, but this rose to 2.64 million in 1995 and 6.74 million this year. At the same time, the corresponding number of people in the working age group rose from 20.26 million to 31.67 million and 37.19 million, respectively. The statistical agency predicted that at the present rate, the growth in the number of elderly people will continue to outpace the number of those that can be economically active by a wide margin. In 2060, the number of people between 15 and 64 is expected to reach 26.92 million, while those over 65 could reach 20.77 million. This translates into 100 workers supporting 77.16 elderly people. Economic experts, backed by such data, warn that such a trend will cripple the economy since there will be a shortage of workers. This could lead to a sharp drop in growth and a corresponding decrease in tax earnings. Fewer taxes will mean less money that can be used to pay for welfare expenditures. South Korea's total fertility rate, or the average number of babies that a woman is projected to have during her lifetime, was 1.21 in 2014. This is far below the 2.1 needed to prevent a drop in population. yonngong@yna.co.kr (END)

X