{"id":2204010,"date":"2024-02-29T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T23:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2204010"},"modified":"2024-02-28T16:36:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T07:36:48","slug":"fertility-freefall-challenges-south-koreas-demographic-stability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/02\/fertility-freefall-challenges-south-koreas-demographic-stability\/","title":{"rendered":"Fertility freefall challenges South Korea\u2019s demographic stability"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea\u2019s total fertility rate has dropped to a new record low of 0.65 in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/kostat.go.kr\/board.es?mid=a10301010000&amp;bid=204&amp;act=view&amp;list_no=429586&amp;tag=&amp;nPage=1&amp;ref_bid=203,204,205,206,207,210,211,11109,11113,11814,213,215,214,11860,11695,216,218,219,220,10820,11815,11895,11816,208,245,222,223,225,226,227,228,229,230,11321,232,233,234,12029,10920,11469,11470,11817,236,237,11471,238,240,241,11865,243,244,11893,11898,12031,11825,246&amp;keyField=T&amp;keyWord=&amp;bodo_b_type=all\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statistics Korea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, exacerbating the country\u2019s demographic challenges amid rapid aging and declining birthrates. This quarterly figure, down from the previous year\u2019s average of 0.72, underscores a persistent downward trend from 1.24 in 2015, marking the lowest rate among OECD nations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decline is attributed to reduced marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside socio-economic pressures such as high housing costs and a tough job market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea\u2019s continually dropping fertility rates signal a demographic shift toward becoming a highly aged country by 2072, with projections showing the median age soaring from 44.9 to 63.4 and the population declining from 51 million to approximately 36.22 million. This transformation has profound implications across various sectors, notably in education, healthcare and national defense, potentially straining these systems as the proportion of the elderly rises sharply. Additionally, the shift will likely pressure tax revenues and pension systems, with fewer individuals in the working-age bracket to support an aging population.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The demographic trends will also have significant political ramifications. As the population ages, political leaders may increasingly prioritize policies that cater to senior citizens, potentially at the expense of younger voters. This shift could alter the political landscape, with long-term strategies focusing more on healthcare, pension reform and social services for the elderly.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/business-economy\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Business &amp; Economy<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/culture-society\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Culture &amp; Society<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/defense-security\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Defense &amp; Security<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/domestic-politics\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korea\u2019s total fertility rate has dropped to a new record low of 0.65 in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Korea, exacerbating the country\u2019s demographic challenges amid rapid aging and declining birthrates. This quarterly figure, down from the previous year\u2019s average of 0.72, underscores a persistent downward trend from 1.24 in 2015, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2204012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[24,25,26,27],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fertility freefall challenges South Korea\u2019s demographic stability - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/02\/fertility-freefall-challenges-south-koreas-demographic-stability\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fertility freefall challenges South Korea\u2019s demographic stability - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea\u2019s total fertility rate has dropped to a new record low of 0.65 in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Korea, exacerbating the country\u2019s demographic challenges amid rapid aging and declining birthrates. 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