Domestic Population Migration Declines for 10 Consecutive Months... Seoul Experiences Net Outflow for 1 Year and 8 Months

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Domestic population movement has decreased for 10 consecutive months due to population aging and a decline in housing move-in volumes. Seoul experienced a net population outflow for 1 year and 8 months, with nearly 10,000 more people leaving than entering.

On the 24th, Statistics Korea announced that the number of domestic movers in October was 540,000, a 10.7% (64,000 people) decrease compared to the same month last year. The population mobility rate, which indicates the number of movers per 100 people, was 12.4%, down 1.5 percentage points from the same month last year. The number of domestic movers has been declining for 10 consecutive months since January.

A Statistics Korea official explained, "As the population ages, there is a long-term trend of decreasing population movement, and the base effect also played a role because population movement was high last year." They added, "The 24% decrease in apartments scheduled for move-in from September to October this year compared to the same period last year also influenced the decline in movement, which is similarly due to the base effect of many apartments scheduled for move-in last year."

Among movers, 67.6% moved within the same province or city, while the remaining 32.4% moved between provinces or cities. Looking at net migration (inflow minus outflow) by region, nine provinces and cities including Seoul (-9,389 people), Daegu (-1,695 people), and Busan (-1,615 people) had more people leaving than entering. Seoul has experienced net population outflow for 1 year and 8 months since March last year. A Statistics Korea official explained, "Seoul has generally experienced net population outflow since the 1990s. However, in January and February, when school admissions and openings occur, there were often net inflows, but this year, due to online classes caused by COVID-19, there was net outflow even in January and February."

Regions with net population inflow, where more people moved in than out, include Gyeonggi (6,525 people), Incheon (3,294 people), and Sejong (1,509 people), among eight provinces and cities. The net migration rates by region are Sejong (4.8%), Incheon (1.3%), Gangwon (1.1%), Seoul (-1.2%), Daegu (-0.8%), and Ulsan (-0.8%).

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