In 2025, the total population of South Korea is projected to be around 51.68 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 six 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 11 percent to around 18 percent in the last decade.

In South Korea, approximately 70.69 percent of the population was between 15 and 64 years old in 2023, while those above the age of 64 made up around 18.34 percent. The youngest generation made up an even smaller percentage than the elderly, but were the only group that did not increase in size over the last decade, partly due to a decrease in births since 2007. Reasons for fewer children While it is not always the case that family sizes shrink when there are less births per woman, the fertility rate in South Korea is undisputably decreasing overall and less children are born. The reasons people cite for having fewer children vary greatly by gender and marital status in South Korea: For example, more married people than singles - and of those more married women than men - say that the difficulty of maintaining a work life balance is the largest concern for them. Meanwhile, men express more economic concerns about child support, and notably more singles nowadays say they feel no need to have children.

In 2024, the population of South Korea was estimated to be about 51.75 million. The population of North Korea was approximately 25.87 million, which is roughly half the population of South Korea. Economic comparison between South and North Korea Following the Korean War (1950-1953), South Korea and North Korea pursued vastly different trajectories, not only politically but also economically. South Korea embraced capitalism and free market principles, which fueled its rapid economic growth and transformed it into one of the world's leading economies. In contrast, North Korea adopted a state-controlled, centrally planned economy, leading to isolation and economic stagnation. While South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) reached around 2,401 trillion South Korean won in 2023, only about 40 trillion won was recorded for North Korea. Food crisis in North Korea North Korea has faced food insecurity for a long time, and this has been exacerbated in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was estimated that the country had a food shortage of around 860,000 metric tons in 2023. Although the North Korean government maintains a centrally planned economic system, food distribution has long been a problem, as an increasing number of North Korean defectors have reported that they have never received food from North Korean authorities.

In 2024, the share of the population in Taiwan aged 65 and older accounted for approximately 19.2 percent of the total population. While the share of old people on the island increased gradually over recent years, the percentage of the working-age population and the children have both declined. Taiwan’s aging population With one of the lowest fertility rates in the world and a steadily growing life expectancy, the average age of Taiwan’s population is increasing quickly, and the share of people aged 65 and above is expected to reach around 38.4 percent of the total population in 2050. This development is also reflected in Taiwan’s population pyramid, which shows that the size of the youngest age group is only half of the size of age groups between 40 and 60 years. The rapid aging of the populations puts a heavy burden on the social insurance system. Old-age dependency is expected to reach more than 70 percent by 2050, meaning that by then three people of working age will have to support two elders, compared to only one elder supported by four working people today. Aging societies in East Asia Today, many countries in East Asia have very low fertility rates and face the challenges of aging societies. This is especially true among those countries that experienced high economic growth in the past, which often resulted in quickly receding birth rates. Japan was one of the first East Asian countries witnessing this demographic change, as is reflected in its high median age. South Korea had the lowest fertility rate of all Asian countries in recent years, and with China, one of the largest populations on earth joined the ranks of quickly aging societies.

大韓民国の人口ピラミッドをグラフや推移表を用いて男女別でどの年齢が最も多いかの考察や、過去(1950年)から最新の人口ピラミッドを比較し、少子化や高齢化が進行しているかなどの変化、出生率の計算などを説明しています。各種データはcsv出力・ダウンロードも可能です。（EXCELでも使用可能）元データのソースはwww.un.orgで、当サイト(GraphToChart)が独自に計算・算出し全て無料で利用可能ですので、研究や分析レポートにお役立て頂ければ幸いです。

In 2019, financial technology (fintech) company KakaoPay recorded over 140 billion South Korean won in revenue. According to the source, 2019 was the first time in which fintech companies in South Korea posted more than 100 billion South Korean won in revenue. This revenue threshold was regarded as the tipping point for economy of scale in the South Korean startup scene.

The rise of KakaoPay

The compulsory requirement of a public certificate key for online transactions was removed in 2015. Since then, various companies jumped into the fintech sector by offering easier methods to authenticate online payments. Among such companies, KakaoPay emerged as a major player in the market, with millions of users. The ease of using the payment platform was one of the main reasons for using KakaoPay.

The continuous online shopping spree

With online payments made much less cumbersome, consumers in South Korea have utilized this simpler channel of commerce. The volume of online shopping drastically increased in overall scale in recent years. This trend did not show any signs of slowing down; rather there seemed to be room for even more growth in the future. Usage rates of online shopping showed that the younger generation of South Koreans had the highest ratio of online shoppers. It is unlikely that they would suddenly turn away from online transactions as they approach the older spectrum of the population pyramid. Additionally, future generations will be born into a society in which online payments are very much a social norm.