South Korea's First Ever 'Population Dead Cross'... 'I Live Alone' Single-Person Households Surpass 7 Million

2021 Population and Housing Census Results (Registered Census Method)

(Source: Statistics Korea)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] Last year, South Korea's population decreased for the first time since the establishment of the government in 1949. The phenomenon of 'population dead cross,' where the number of births is less than the number of deaths, has become a reality. The working-age population has declined, while the proportion of elderly people aged 65 and over reached an all-time high.

According to the '2021 Population and Housing Census Results (Registered Census Method)' announced by Statistics Korea on the 28th, the total population as of November 1 last year was 51,748,000, down 91,000 (0.2%) from 51,829,000 a year earlier. The domestic population was 50,088,000, a decrease of 45,000 (0.1%) compared to the previous year, and the foreign population was 1,650,000, down 46,000 (2.7%). Following the first decrease in the number of foreigners residing in the country in 30 years in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first occurred, the number declined for two consecutive years through last year.

This is the first time since related statistics began to be compiled in 1949 that South Korea's population growth rate has recorded a negative (-) figure. The annual average population growth rate remained below 1% in decimal points after 2016 (0.4%), recorded 0.1% in 2020, and then dropped to -0.2% last year. According to future population projections, a natural decrease of 60,000 people per year is expected until 2030, indicating that the population decline trend is likely to continue long-term.

Lee Ji-yeon, head of the Population Census Division at Statistics Korea, explained the background of the population decline, saying, "Natural population decrease has already been ongoing, and the decline has deepened due to COVID-19. In 2021, as the COVID-19 trend stabilized, there were quite a few cases of domestic residents going abroad, resulting in a net outflow."

The proportion of the working-age population aged 15 to 64 was 71.4% (36,944,000), down 0.9% (-344,000) from the previous year. The proportion of the youth population aged 0 to 14 also decreased by 2.7% (-167,000), accounting for only 11.8% (6,087,000).

On the other hand, the proportion of the elderly population aged 65 and over increased by 5.1% (419,000) to 16.8% (8,707,000). In particular, the proportion of the super-aged population aged 85 and over was 10.1%, the highest ever recorded.

Accordingly, the youth dependency ratio, which is the number of youth dependents per 100 working-age people, decreased by 0.3 to 16.5 compared to the previous year, while the old-age dependency ratio increased by 1.3 to 23.6. The aging index rose by 10.5 to 143.0 compared to 132.5 the previous year. This is the largest increase since the annual survey began in 2016.

The median age, which is the age of the person positioned exactly in the middle when domestic residents are lined up by age, was 44.5 years, up 0.6 years from a year earlier. The median age for men was 43.1 years, and for women, it was 46.0 years, with women’s median age 2.9 years higher. Overall, as aging progresses, the median age tends to rise every year.

Last year, the total number of households was 22,023,000, an increase of 2.5% (538,000 households) from the previous year. In particular, single-person households exceeded 7 million for the first time. The number of single-person households last year was 7,166,000 (33.4%), up 7.9% (522,000 households) from the previous year. Since 2015, single-person households have accounted for the largest proportion, becoming the main household type.

By age group, single-person households were highest among those under 20 at 19.8%, followed by 30s at 17.1%, and 60s at 16.4%.

Lee explained, "It is the first time that single-person households have exceeded 7 million, and the increase is quite significant. Last year, due to COVID-19, many people who were in group facilities moved out, leading to the separation of households and a significant increase in single-person households."

Two-person households also increased by 212,000 from the previous year to 6,077,000. On the other hand, households with three or more people decreased compared to the previous year. The average household size was 2.29 persons, down 0.06 from the previous year and 0.22 from five years ago.

The total number of houses last year was 18,812,000, up 1.5% from the previous year. This is the lowest growth rate since 1980. It is attributed to a decrease in housing completions last year.

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