[앵커]
For Korea, where the rate of population decline is accelerating, a diagnosis is being made that “the level of population extinction is unprecedented in world history.”
At this rate, it is predicted that the time when the population of 50 million collapses will come sooner than expected.
This is Reporter Kim Pyeong-jeong.
[기자]
This is Hwayang Elementary School in Seoul, which is about to close next month.
Last year, only 84 students attended, so the number of students decreased and eventually closed.
In fact, last year, Seoul became the city with the lowest number of children in the country.
The total fertility rate, which is the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, was only 0.59, lower than the national average of 0.78.
Along with Seoul, large cities such as Busan and Incheon are leading the decline in Korea’s birth rate.
The number of babies born last year fell below 250,000 for the first time since the establishment of the government.
Considering that the number of deaths is 370,000, it is calculated that the population has decreased naturally by 123,000 people minus births from deaths.
Among the conditions that the National Statistical Office previously predicted as 2031 when the population of Korea falls below 50 million,
Last year, the natural decrease in the population was set at 106,000, but the actual decrease was larger than this, raising the possibility that the collapse of 50 million people will be accelerated.
[임영일 통계청 인구동향과장 (지난 22일) : 앞으로 고령화에 대한 인구가 계속해서 늘어나기 때문에요. 아무래도 사망자 숫자도 늘어날 것이고, 그다음에 출생아는 적어지다 보면….]
Korea’s population decline, which is unprecedented in world history, is raising problems throughout society and the economy, such as increasing the burden of the national pension and the loss of military personnel, and lowering the potential growth rate.
[전병목 국민연금 재정추계전문위원장 : 저출산·고령화 심화와 경기 둔화의 영향으로 지출이 점차 증가하여 2041년부터 지출이 수입을 상회하는 수지적자가 발생하고, 2055년 (국민연금) 기금이 소진될 것으로 전망됩니다.]
As the government budget of 280 trillion won over 16 years has not been able to prevent a sharp decrease in the number of births, voices are growing that special measures must be taken in all directions, including childcare, housing, jobs, and balanced local development.
This is YTN Kim Pyeong-jeong.
YTN Kim Pyeong-jeong ([email protected])
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