South Korea has officially become a 'super-aged society' with 20% of its population aged 65 or older. This demographic shift, driven by a plummeting birth rate, has sparked concerns about the long-term economic impact and poses significant challenges for policymakers.
One in five South Korea ns is now aged 65 or older, the government said Tuesday. Newsweek contacted the South Korea n embassy in Washington D.C. via email for comment outside of office hours. Why It Matters The long-expected milestone officially makes the East Asian nation a 'super-aged society,' according to the United Nations benchmark, joining neighboring Japan, which passed the 20-percent threshold in 2006 and is likewise grappling with falling birth and marriage rates.
The long-term economic impact, coupled with a plummeting birth rate, have policymakers worried, and an increasingly desperate Seoul has this year announced a wave of regulations, and announced a new ministry to spearhead efforts to address the demographic crisis. What To Know The proportion of South Koreans who are 65 or older stands at 10.24 million, local media cited the country's interior ministry as saying, making up 20 percent of the 51.22 million population and twice as many as in 2008. Among this age grouping, 5.69 million are women and 4.54 million men. South Jeolla Province, the country's southernmost region, bears the distinction of the oldest major area, with 27 percent of its population being classified as elderly. Meanwhile, the de facto administrative capital of Sejong in central South Korea is the youngest with just 11.57 percent being elderly. South Korea's plummeting birth rate, the world's lowest with just 0.72 births expected per woman lifetime last year, is likely to accelerate the population imbalance. South Korean authorities have said some $200 billion was spent between 2006 and 2022 on initiatives to boost births, but these have failed to overcome obstacles such as rising housing prices and changing social attitudes among young peopl
SUPER-AGED SOCIETY SOUTH KOREA DEMOGRAPHY AGING POPULATION BIRTH RATE
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