Seoul's population may shrink to 9.69 mln in 2025

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- The population of Seoul City, the capital of South
Korea, is likely to gradually contract to 9.69 million by 2025 on a declining
birthrate and aging citizens, a government forecast showed Monday.

South Korea, which is one of the world's fastest aging societies, also has the
world's lowest birth rate with the average number of children born to a woman
over her life time falling to 1.08.
Seoul's population is likely to stand at 10.03 million in 2010 and fall to 9.89
million in 2020, according to the forecast by Statistics Korea, the nation's
statistics agency.
The agency also expected Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, to become the
second-most populous city on the Korean Peninsula in 2015, replacing Busan, the
southern port city of South Korea.
Pyongyang's population may rise to 3.43 million in 2015, while Busan's population
may shrink to 3.32 million by then, compared with an estimated 3.44 million next
year, the agency said.
(END)