Under 20 and Elderly Restricted by COVID-19: "Greatest Impact on Population Movement"

Statistics Korea Statistical Development Institute Publishes 'Statistics Plus Summer Issue'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A survey found that the movement of people under 20 and elderly people over 70 was the most affected among all age groups due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to "Population Movement and Changes in Personal Consumption after the Outbreak of COVID-19 Seen through Mobile Big Data," published in the "Statistics Plus Summer Issue" by the Statistics Development Institute of Statistics Korea on the 29th, compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19, the movement of those under 20 who require care and those over 70 who are vulnerable to disease decreased the most significantly. In particular, for those over 70, movement sharply dropped by 46.6% in the 4th week compared to the average daily movement from January 9 to 22 this year. During the same period, those under 20 also decreased by 44.8%.

Population movement, which decreased most sharply in the 4th week after the outbreak (February 24 to March 1) across most age groups, has been recovering since then. In the 13th week (April 27 to May 3), movement among those under 20 increased significantly due to more family outings during the four-day holiday. Influenced by school reopening and other factors, weeks 13 and 14 (April 27 to May 3) saw an increase of 19.9% and 2.6%, respectively. However, movement among the elderly over 70 remains limited. Movement in weeks 13 and 14 was still 17.1% and 20.4% lower than the previous average daily movement.

Compared to the same period last year, recovery was slower for those under 20 and over 70 at about 71% and 76% respectively by the 14th week after the outbreak, while those in their 30s to 50s recovered relatively faster at about 87% or more.

By gender, women were found to respond more sensitively to COVID-19 than men. Until the 12th week after the outbreak, women showed a larger decrease in movement compared to men. However, from the 13th week, no significant difference was observed. This is interpreted as an effect of the easing of social distancing measures implemented from April 20 and the "distancing in daily life" measures from May 6, which increased family outings.

By industry, commercial areas, tourist spots, and leisure sports facilities were the most affected. Compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, most location types showed the largest decrease in the 4th week after the outbreak but have been gradually recovering. In the 13th week, tourist spots and leisure sports facilities saw a significant increase due to the four-day holiday.

Compared to the same period in 2019, by the 14th week after the outbreak, large outlets had almost recovered to about 95%, while tourist spots (about 71%), leisure sports facilities (about 76%), and commercial areas (about 81%) still showed slow recovery.

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