Increase in Youth Deaths After 8 Years... Academic Achievement Remains Among the World's Top Levels

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family & Statistics Korea Announce '2020 Youth Statistics'

Number of Deaths Increases for the First Time Since 2010
6 out of 10 Youth Deaths Are Male

Youth Population Decline Continues
In 40 Years, Youth Population Will Be Half of Current Numbers

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The number of deaths among South Korean youth (ages 9-24) has increased again after eight years.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and Statistics Korea announced the '2020 Youth Statistics' containing this information on the 27th.

According to the announcement, the number of youth deaths had been steadily decreasing since 2010, but increased by 3.8% (2,017 people) compared to the previous year as of 2018. The leading cause of death was intentional self-harm (suicide) at 9.1 per 100,000 people, followed by safety accidents at 4.6, and malignant neoplasms (cancer) at 2.9. Until 2010, safety accidents were the leading cause of youth deaths, but they have continuously decreased, and the ranking changed from 2011 onward. Among youth deaths, 61.9% were male.

Academic achievement was shown to be at a top global level. In the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), South Korea ranked 2nd to 7th in reading, 1st to 4th in mathematics, and 3rd to 5th in science, maintaining a top global level. The average scores of Korean students by subject were 514 in reading, 526 in mathematics, and 519 in science, which were 27, 37, and 30 points higher than the OECD average scores, respectively.

The trend of population decline is also continuing. It is projected that in 40 years, the youth population (ages 9-24) in South Korea will decrease to about half of the current level. According to statistics, the current youth population is 8,542,000, accounting for 16.5% of the total population. The continuously decreasing youth population is expected to be halved by 2060. The school-age population (ages 6-21) has also decreased, currently accounting for 15.1% (7,821,000) of the total population, but it is expected to fall below 10% in 40 years.

Average Sleep Time 7.3 Hours
4 out of 10 Experience High Stress Regularly
3 out of 4 Attend Private Education

The average sleep time for elementary, middle, and high school students was 7.3 hours. Elementary students slept the longest at 8.7 hours, middle school students 7.4 hours, and high school students 6.0 hours. Boys slept more than girls and exercised regularly. Excluding regular class hours, 5 out of 10 students studied for more than 3 hours a day on average. Girls studied more than boys. The proportion of students studying more than 4 hours was over 10 percentage points higher among high school students compared to elementary and middle school students.

Among middle and high school students, 4 out of 10 reported feeling a lot of stress regularly, and 28.2% experienced depression within the past 12 months. The rate of depression experience was higher among high school students (29.4%) than middle school students (26.9%), and higher among females (34.6%) than males (22.2%), with gender differences being more significant than differences by school level.

The participation rate in private education has been steadily increasing since 2015. Last year, the participation rate of elementary, middle, and high school students in private education rose by 2.0 percentage points from the previous year to 74.8%. The average weekly participation time in private education was 6.5 hours. Leisure activities mostly lasted 1 to 2 hours per day, with computer games and internet browsing being the most common.

3 out of 10 at Risk of Smartphone Overdependence
Middle School Students Most Vulnerable
Main Reason for Running Away: Problems with Parents

The employment rate for young adults (ages 15-29) was 43.5%, and the unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage points from the previous year to 8.9%. Employment rates by age group were 7.6% for ages 15-19, 43.5% for ages 20-24, and 70.4% for ages 25-29.

Among middle and high school students, 7 out of 100 reported smoking within the last 30 days, and 15 reported having consumed alcohol. 3 out of 10 were classified as at risk of smartphone overdependence, with middle school students being the most vulnerable group.

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The rate of running away from home within the past year among 4th to 6th grade elementary students and middle and high school students was 3.5%, a decrease from the previous year. The main reason for running away was problems with parents, accounting for 61.7%. Juvenile offenders (ages 14-18) numbered about 66,000, accounting for 3.8% of all offenders, with property crimes (40.1%) being the most common type of crime.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.