ID :
41770
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 21:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/41770
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's population to shrink after 2018: report
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's population will begin to shrink after
2018, a government report said Tuesday, raising fears that the nation's growth
potential will be reduced by a dwindling workforce.
According to the report by the National Statistical Office, the nation's total
population will peak at 49.34 million at the end of 2018, compared with 48.74
million last year, and will see negative growth in the following years due to a
declining birth rate.
The birth rate, or the average number of babies that a woman gives birth to
during her lifetime, has been on the decline over the past decades. In 1983, it
fell below 2.1, the point where a population can be maintained at its current
level. At the end of 2007, the rate stood at 1.26.
As a result, the number of working people will begin to decrease after 2016,
according to the report. Those aged between 15 and 64 will total 36.19 million in
2016, with that figure contracting each year following.
South Korea is quickly becoming an aged society, accelerating the nation's
transition to an aged society, the report showed. An aged society refers to a
country in which more than 14 percent of the population is 65 or older.
According to the report, South Korea became an aging society in 2000 when the
ratio exceeded 7 percent. It is expected to become an aged society in 2018.
"The fast-aging population will drive up the social burden of taking care of
senior citizens, raising concerns over the nation's social dynamism and expanded
government spending on their welfare," the report said.
The report also proposed the government take action to cope with the impact
becoming an aged society will have on domestic demand.
South Korean domestic demand, a key growth engine behind the nation's economy,
accounted for 49.3 percent of gross domestic demand at the end of 2007, the
report said. The figure is far lower than the U.S. and Britain, whose ratios
stood at 72 percent and 65.8 percent, respectively.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
2018, a government report said Tuesday, raising fears that the nation's growth
potential will be reduced by a dwindling workforce.
According to the report by the National Statistical Office, the nation's total
population will peak at 49.34 million at the end of 2018, compared with 48.74
million last year, and will see negative growth in the following years due to a
declining birth rate.
The birth rate, or the average number of babies that a woman gives birth to
during her lifetime, has been on the decline over the past decades. In 1983, it
fell below 2.1, the point where a population can be maintained at its current
level. At the end of 2007, the rate stood at 1.26.
As a result, the number of working people will begin to decrease after 2016,
according to the report. Those aged between 15 and 64 will total 36.19 million in
2016, with that figure contracting each year following.
South Korea is quickly becoming an aged society, accelerating the nation's
transition to an aged society, the report showed. An aged society refers to a
country in which more than 14 percent of the population is 65 or older.
According to the report, South Korea became an aging society in 2000 when the
ratio exceeded 7 percent. It is expected to become an aged society in 2018.
"The fast-aging population will drive up the social burden of taking care of
senior citizens, raising concerns over the nation's social dynamism and expanded
government spending on their welfare," the report said.
The report also proposed the government take action to cope with the impact
becoming an aged society will have on domestic demand.
South Korean domestic demand, a key growth engine behind the nation's economy,
accounted for 49.3 percent of gross domestic demand at the end of 2007, the
report said. The figure is far lower than the U.S. and Britain, whose ratios
stood at 72 percent and 65.8 percent, respectively.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
