South Korea now a ‘super-aged society’ amid shrinking, aging population

A woman eats a steaming hot bowl of noodles at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea, on March 13, 2023. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / Agence France-Presse)

SEOUL — South Korea has become a “super-aged society,” with 20 percent of its population aged 65 or older, official data showed on Tuesday, a gloomy trend driven by an alarmingly low birth rate.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy recorded just 0.7 births per woman late last year – one of the lowest birth rates in the world and far below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to sustain the current population.

That means South Korea’s population is aging and shrinking rapidly.

Those aged 65 and older “account for 20 percent of the 51.2 million registered population, numbering 10 million.” the interior ministry said in a news release on Tuesday, placing South Korea alongside Japan, Germany, and France as a “super-aged society.”

It also means the elderly population has more than doubled since 2008, when it numbered fewer than 5 million, according to the ministry.

Men account for 44 percent of the current 65-and-older group, the data showed.

READ: For ‘unhappy’ South Koreans, building families is ‘difficult’ task

The government has poured billions of dollars into encouraging more births, with Seoul authorities offering subsidies for egg freezing in one recent effort.

However, such efforts have failed to deliver the intended results and the population is projected to fall to 39 million by 2067, when the median population age will be 62.

READ: Aging South Korea turns to immigration

Experts say there are multiple causes for the twin phenomena of low marriage and birth rates, ranging from high child-rearing costs and soaring property prices to a notoriously competitive society that makes securing well-paid jobs difficult.

The double burden on working mothers, who shoulder the bulk of household chores and childcare while maintaining their careers, is another key factor, they say.