'Crisis of extinction': South Korea's population falls for first time in 2020
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According to South Korea's interior ministry “the number of newborn babies failed to make up for the number of deaths”.
South Korean government said today that some of its towns were facing "crisis of extinction" as the country recorded more deaths than births in 2020 for the first time pointing to a looming demographic disaster.
According to South Korea's interior ministry “the number of newborn babies failed to make up for the number of deaths”.
"In regions with poor economic, medical and educational infrastructure, the crisis of the extinction of such towns is escalating," it added.
The interior ministry informed the country's population had reached 51,829,023 in 2020 which was down 20,838 from 2019. South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world which reached a low of 0.84 last year.
The annual death of South Korea had alarmingly exceeded deaths for the first time from 275,815 to 307,764.
The government informed that the birth rate was down 10.65 per cent year-on-year. The country recorded 275,815 births in 2020 with the death rate going up to 307,764 - an increase of 3.1 per cent.
The population crisis has taken place despite the government spending $166 billion since 2006 to boost birth rates. The government projected that the birth rate in South Korea between 2020-25 is expected to be 297,000 even as birth rate came up short by over 20,000.
The South Korean government had earlier released data which showed that women who believe they need to marry their numbers fell to 44 per cent in 2018 from 62 per cent in 2008.