In 2025, the total population of South Korea is projected to be around ***** million. In thirty years, the number of people aged 15 to 64 is estimated to decrease by one-third, while the number of older adults is anticipated to more than double. Additionally, the overall population is expected to decline by around *** million people by that time. Declining birth rate Several factors are contributing to the expected demographic changes in South Korea. Firstly, the birth rate has been declining for years. As of 2024, South Korea had the lowest fertility rate in the world. This trend continues despite the efforts of successive governments to encourage young people to have children. An increasing number of South Korean women are prioritizing their careers, often choosing to focus on work rather than starting a family at a young age. While the employment rate for South Korean women is still lower than that of men, it has steadily risen over the past decade. Increase in life expectancy Secondly, life expectancy in South Korea has steadily increased due to improved living standards and healthcare. The average life expectancy at birth for South Koreans has risen from less than 75 years to almost 83 years over the past twenty years. As a result, the proportion of people aged 65 and older has grown from less than ** percent to around ** percent in the last decade.

In 2024, the birth rate in South Korea stood at 0.75 births per woman. The country has long struggled with a declining birth rate, dropping below one birth per woman in 2018.

In 2025, South Korea's male population is projected to reach about ***** million, while the female population is estimated at ***** million. In the long term, South Korea's population is expected to decline, reaching about ***** million in 2072.

In 2024, the number of births in South Korea stood at *******, a slight increase compared to the previous year. Around two decades earlier, this number was twice as high. Declining fertility in South Korea A phenomenon that most East Asian countries and territories grapple with is a stark decline in fertility rates. This is especially evident in South Korea, which has the lowest fertility rate in the world, far below the 2.1 children per woman threshold that represents replacement fertility. In response to the expected economic consequences of a declining population, South Korea has implemented various initiatives to encourage married couples to have children. Factors contributing to low birth rates in South Korea One major element is the societal change in attitudes toward childbirth. In a survey, half of the South Korean respondents asserted that marriages can be happy without children, and a sizable share also stated that having children was dependent on economic factors. In addition, an increasing number of South Koreans are choosing not to get married. In 2023, South Korea recorded one of the lowest numbers of marriages in its history. Furthermore, there has been a growing trend among South Korean women to prioritize their financial independence and career continuity over traditional expectations of childbearing.

As South Korea faces unprecedented demographic decline, marked by the world’s lowest fertility rate and rapid population aging, immigration has begun to feature in local political discourse. This study analyzes over two decades of local council meeting records across administrative districts to examine whether demographic conditions influence rhetorical engagement with immigration, and whether such discourse exhibits ideological polarization. Using computational text analysis, the analysis finds that lower birth rates and population stagnation are associated with increased mentions of immigration, but not with greater partisan divergence in sentiment. Rather than a site of ideological contestation, immigration tends to be discussed in practical terms, often linked to labor shortages and local sustainability. These findings suggest that under conditions of centralized immigration policy, limited migrant presence, and acute demographic pressure, immigration can gain salience in local politics without becoming a polarizing issue. This study contributes to broader debates on demographic change and political responsiveness.

In 1900, the crude birth rate in South Korea was just under 42 births for every thousand people, meaning that approximately 4.2 percent of the population was born in that year. The crude birth rate would rise briefly in the 1930s, as Japanese investment would lead to economic growth on the peninsula, but would fall sharply in the 1940s, as the Second World War and the Korean War would result in two decades of significant socio-economic turmoil. While the crude birth rate would recover quickly after the end of the Korean War in 1953, a sharp decline in fertility beginning in the 1960s would see a corresponding fall in the crude birth rate lasting until the late 1980s, as South Korea would go through a rapid demographic transition and modernization. While the crude birth rate would briefly rise in the early 1990s, partially due to governmental restrictions on sex-selective abortion; the rate of decline would slow going into the 21st century. As a result, in 2020, it is estimated that South Korea has a birth rate of seven births for every thousand people, which is one of the lowest birth rates in the world.

In 1900, the fertility rate in the region of present-day South Korea was six children per woman, meaning that the average woman born in South Korea in that year could expect to have six children over the course of their reproductive years. This number began to fluctuate in the 1930s, when the Japanese administration (the Korean peninsula had been annexed by Japan in 1910) promoted fertility as part of the war effort, before fertility dropped below 5.2 births per woman in the aftermath of the war. It then increased above 6.3 in the 1950s due to the devastation and mass-displacement caused by the Korean War. As stability returned to the region, South Korea's fertility rate would fall sharply throughout the remainder of the century, as modernization, urbanization, and the implementation of family planning programs would see fertility fall to just over 1.5 children per woman by 1990.

Sex-selective abortion and gender ratios Abortion was illegal in South Korea between 1953 and 2020, although it was permitted in some cases from 1973 onward. Despite this, these laws were rarely enforced, and sex-selective abortion became widespread following advancements in ultrasound technology. In many Asian societies, it was often preferred to have male children as they were viewed as being better long-term providers for their parents and they would carry on the family name. In South Korea in the early 1990s, the practice of sex-selective abortion became so widespread that the gender ratio at birth was 114 males for every 100 females (reportedly as high as 125 in some cities), compared to the historical and natural average of approximately 105 males per 100 females. The government then prohibited doctors from revealing the gender of unborn babies to the parents in 1987, and introduced more severe penalties in 1994, in an attempt to revert this trend. The gender imbalance then reduced in the following decades, and has been at 106 males per 100 females since the 2010s (roughly the natural average). Abortion rights in South Korea were expanded in 2021.

Lowest in the world? Despite government initiatives aimed at increasing fertility, including financial incentives, South Korea's fertility rate has continued to fall in recent years, and today is at around half of replacement level. In 2020, it is estimated that the average woman born in South Korea will have just over one child over the course of their reproductive years. Some critics cite economic factors, such as high education and housing costs, for the reason that young couples are postponing marriage and having families; today, South Korea has the lowest adolescent fertility rate, and the lowest overall fertility rate in the Asia Pacific region. Due to the current trajectory of South Korea's fertility rate, in January 2021, it was announced that the South Korean population experienced a natural decline for the first time in it's history.

South Korea: Buddhists as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 17.2 percent, a decline from 17.4 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 36.4 percent, based on data from 21 countries. Historically, the average for South Korea from 1960 to 2013 is 20.2 percent. The minimum value, 17.2 percent, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 21.4 percent was recorded in 1968.

BackgroundAlthough previous studies have reported that frequent earphone use and lead exposure are risk factors for hearing loss, most of these studies were limited to small populations or animal experiments. Several studies that presented the joint effect of combined exposure of noise and heavy metal on hearing loss were also mainly conducted on occupational workers exposed to high concentration.ObjectivesWe investigated both the individual and joint effects of earphone use and environmental lead exposure on hearing loss in the Korean general population.MethodsWe analyzed data from 7,596 Koreans provided by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) during the period 2010–2013. The pure-tone average (PTA) of hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz frequencies was computed, and hearing loss was defined as a PTA ≥ 25 dB in one or both ears.ResultsA dose-response relationship in hearing loss with earphone use time and blood lead level is observed after adjustment for confounding factors. With a 1-hour increase in earphone use time and 1 μg/dL increase in blood lead concentration, the odds of hearing loss increased by 1.19 and 1.43 times, respectively. For hearing loss, the additive and multiplicative effect of earphone use and blood lead level were not statistically significant.ConclusionsEarphone use and environmental lead exposure have an individual effect on hearing loss in the general population. However, the estimated joint effect of earphone use and lead exposure was not statistically significant.

In 2023, the annual population growth in South Korea amounted to 0.08 percent. Between 1961 and 2023, the figure dropped by 2.89 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Seagrasses provide numerous ecosystem services for coastal and estuarine environments, such as nursery functions, erosion protection, pollution filtration, and carbon sequestration. Zostera marina (common name “eelgrass”) is one of the seagrass bed-forming species distributed widely in the northern hemisphere, including the Korean Peninsula. Recently, however, there has been a drastic decline in the population size of Z. marina worldwide, including Korea. We examined the current population genetic status of this species on the southern coast of Korea by estimating the levels of genetic diversity and genetic structure of 10 geographic populations using eight nuclear microsatellite markers. The level of genetic diversity was found to be significantly lower for populations on Jeju Island [mean allelic richness (AR) = 1.92, clonal diversity (R) = 0.51], which is located approximately 155 km off the southernmost region of the Korean Peninsula, than for those in the South Sea (mean AR = 2.69, R = 0.82), which is on the southern coast of the mainland. South Korean eelgrass populations were substantially genetically divergent from one another (FST = 0.061–0.573), suggesting that limited contemporary gene flow has been taking place among populations. We also found weak but detectable temporal variation in genetic structure within a site over 10 years. In additional depth comparisons, statistically significant genetic differentiation was observed between shallow (or middle) and deep zones in two of three sites tested. Depleted genetic diversity, small effective population sizes (Ne) and limited connectivity for populations on Jeju Island indicate that these populations may be vulnerable to local extinction under changing environmental conditions, especially given that Jeju Island is one of the fastest warming regions around the world. Overall, our work will inform conservation and restoration efforts, including transplantation for eelgrass populations at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, for this ecologically important species.

Prevalence of hearing impairment (more than 25 dB in the better ear) at each frequency by decade age.

Range-wide population studies of wide spread species are often associated with complex diversity patterns resulting from genetically divergent evolutionary significant units (ESUs). The compound evolutionary history creating such a pattern of diversity can be inferred through molecular analyses. Asparagus cochinchinensis, a medicinally important perennial herb, is in decline due to overharvesting in Korea. Eight A. cochinchinensis populations in Korea and three neighboring countries (China, Japan and Taiwan) were examined using nine nuclear microsatellite loci and three chloroplast microsatellite loci to characterize molecular diversity patterns. The average within-population diversity was limited likely due to long-term bottlenecks observed in all eight populations. High pairwise FST values indicated that the populations have largely diverged, but the divergences were not correlated with geographic distances. Clustering analyses revealed a highly complex spatial structure pattern associated with two ESUs. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) suggest that the two ESUs split about 21,000 BP, were independently introduced to Korea approximately 1,800 years ago, and admixed in secondary contact zones. The two ESUs found in our study may have different habitat preferences and growth conditions, implying that the two genetically divergent groups should be considered not only for conservation and management but also for breeding programs in agricultural areas.

In 2021, the school-age population in South Korea comprises **** million people. This is a sharp decline from the 1980 population of **** million. It is expected that this trend of decline will continue, with projection of the 2060 school-age population comprising of only **** million people.

This data set contains both raw and processed data from the flood vulnerability assessment of 228 districts in Korea as of 2022. The study aims to analyze regional disparities in flood vulnerability using a multidimensional, indicator-based approach that incorporates regional resilience. Based on the IPCC's climate change vulnerability concept, 30 indicators across social, economic, physical, and infrastructural dimensions were constructed. The raw data were standardized and weighted using the entropy method to enhance objectivity. The results indicate that highly vulnerable areas often exhibit high social and physical sensitivity, combined with low economic adaptive capacity. Additionally, it was found that 69.23% of the highly vulnerable districts are located in metropolitan areas, suggesting that urban regions are at greater risk of flood damage when social, economic, physical, and infrastructural factors are collectively considered. Moreover, over 90% of the vulnerable districts outside metropolitan areas were identified as population-declining regions, highlighting the potential negative impact of depopulation on local flood resilience.

The water toad (Bufo stejnegeri) is endemic to Northeastern Asia (South Korea, North Korea, and China) and has unique ecology for a toad by being semi-aquatic and breeding in lotic environments. We use a suite of phylogenetic analyses to understand the evolution of B. stejnegeri's distinctive ecology and the impact of Pleistocene glacial cycles on the biodiversity of Northeast Asia. For the evolution of a semi-aquatic lifestyle, although B. stejnegeri is relatively closely related to two other semi-aquatic Bufo species (B. torrenticola and B. andrewsi), ancestral state reconstruction analysis infers an independent evolution in all three species. Upon closer inspection, B. stejnegeri exhibits major differences in amplexus and egg-laying behavior compared to the other two species, supporting independent evolution. Divergence dating analyses infer B. stejnegeri to have originated during the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene (4.3 Ma, 2.7–6.2 Ma). This species does not exhibit population differentiation with respect to mountain range, but shows a preliminary genetic pattern of southern richness and northern purity supporting a single refugium in Korea during Pleistocene glacial cycles. The Bayesian skyline plot supports this inference, suggesting a population decline followed by expansion during the Pleistocene. Although not as species rich as the tropics, we hope this study helps spark interest in Northeast Asian biodiversity.

2 wave KLoSA Codebook English version_2008. (XLSX 968 kb)

This study delves into the long-term dynamics of inter-city travel networks in South Korea by scrutinizing forty years of origin-destination data from both railway and highway systems. We uncover a pattern of increasing disparity in travel demand, concentrating more within certain hub cities over time. This trend points to an escalation in the prominence of these hubs, which have strengthened their connections with each other, emerging as critical nodes in the travel network. Meanwhile, non-hub cities have witnessed a decline in both population size and travel demand. Interestingly, while both railways and highways share a common trajectory toward centralization around hubs, they serve distinct roles. Highways have primarily expanded to connect neighboring cities, enhancing regional accessibility. Conversely, railways have evolved to cater to the long-distance connectivity of widely dispersed hub cities, reinforcing the role of these cities as key inter-regional links. These findings carry important implications for urban development and spatial planning. The evidence suggests a shift toward the formation of mega-regions, defined by a network of interconnected hub cities. Understanding the growth patterns and evolving connections of these expansive urban areas provides critical insights for informed urban planning and policy-making, ensuring that future developments align with the shifting landscape of urban connectivity and growth.

As of 2024, more than ************ South Koreans were aged 75 or older. The total number of elderly is expected to more than double between 2020 and 2072. The demographics of South Korea are expected to change significantly in the coming years. Thirty years from now, the number of children and people aged 15 to 64 is estimated to drop by *******, while the number of older people is believed to double. Meanwhile, the total population is expected to drop by more than ************ people by this time.

Exposure characteristics of the study population.