South Korea will lose about half of its population every generation, claims Elon Musk

As per a recent tweet shared by Elon Musk, current estimates reveal that South Korea will lose about half of its population every generation. Here is all we about the major reason for the loss of South Korea’s population.

Since 1983, South Korea’s overall fertility rate has been less than the replacement rate of 2.1 children born per woman. According to newly released World Population Prospects data, the drop in total fertility is accelerating South Korea’s demographic trends in a negative direction.

The population of South Korea used to be relatively young. As recently as 2005, the percentage of the young, non-working population aged 14 and under was around typical with the OECD. However, in less than 20 years, South Korea’s youth population has decreased faster than that of any other nation except Japan, and this year, South Korea is predicted to overtake Japan as the nation with the smallest youth population.

On the other hand, from 10.8% of the population in 2010 to 17.5 percent in 2022, more South Koreans than 65 years old. According to statistics from Korea, elderly folks will make up 40% of the population by 2051 and 30% of the population in 2036, respectively, based on current trends.

Trends in total fertility have recently become increasingly dramatic. South Korea’s total fertility rate dropped below 1.0 for the first time in 2018 there. Since then, it has decreased yearly and is predicted to have decreased to 0.81 in 2021. The population patterns of South Korea are affected by this.

The most recent population estimates from the UN were in 2019. According to their projections, the medium version predicted a relatively little population reduction for South Korea, from a peak of 51.34 million in 2025 to 49.78 million. According to the most recent projections, 49.32 million people will live in South Korea in 2040.

The medium variant of the U.N. does not, of course, accurately reflect current trends in South Korea, where the population is already in decline. However, the population was expected to start dropping before 2025 according to the 2019 low variant. According to the prediction, in 2040 there will be a population reduction to 47.34 million. According to the latest low variant projection, in 2040 there will be 47.18 million people living on the planet.

With a present life expectancy of 83.7 years, it is not unexpected that there are only small modifications in the new U.N. figures – though in a continuous decreasing trend. But the gaps widen as the time horizon gets wider. The 2019 forecast predicted that South Korea’s population would decrease to 37.54 million by 2060 and to only 19.2 million by 2100, sticking with the low option, which most accurately represents current trends in the country. However, the revised estimate predicts a fall in population, with 36.64 million people living there in 2060 and just 15.63 million in 2100, or less than one-third of South Korea’s 2021 population.

The projections grow increasingly uncertain as you go further into the future since variables could alter overall fertility or mortality over time. They do, however, illustrate the potential state of affairs should current trends continue unabated.

The aging of the population, which will cause the working age population, those between the ages of 15 and 64, to continue to decline, will be the most significant factor from the perspective of South Korea’s economy. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people in the working age population is predicted to fall from 37.38 million in 2020 to 24.19 million in 2050. The U.N. The medium variation projection is more pessimistic, anticipating only 20.96 million people to be of working age. The low variant estimate is just a little less accurate.