Last Month's Population Movement Down 4.9% YoY... Lowest Movement in 48 Years as of May

Statistics Korea Releases Domestic Population Movement Statistics
497,000 People Moved in May... Lowest Since 1975

Population movement in May recorded 497,000 people, marking the lowest level in 48 years. Statistics Korea analyzed this as an effect of population aging and a decrease in housing sales volume.

According to the 'Domestic Population Movement Statistics for May 2023' released by Statistics Korea on the 28th, the number of movers was 497,000, a decrease of 26,000 people (4.9%) compared to the same month last year. This is the lowest number for the same month since 1975 (480,000 people).

Among the total movers, 66.2% moved within the same province, while 33.8% moved between provinces. Compared to the same month last year, intra-province moves decreased by 4.9%, and inter-province moves decreased by 4.8%. The population movement rate, which is the number of movers per 100 people, was 11.4%, down 0.6 percentage points from the same month last year.

An official from Statistics Korea explained, "While the number of young people who move frequently is decreasing, the elderly population who tend not to move is increasing, and factors for moving such as housing sales volume have decreased compared to the same month last year."

In May, net migration (inflow minus outflow) by province showed net inflows in eight provinces including Gyeonggi (4,427 people), Incheon (1,991 people), and Chungnam (1,154 people). On the other hand, nine provinces including Seoul (-3,353 people), Busan (-1,195 people), and Gyeongnam (-1,399 people) experienced net outflows.

During the same period, net migration rates by province showed net inflows in Incheon (0.8%), Chungnam (0.6%), and Gyeonggi (0.4%), while Ulsan (-0.7%), Gwangju (-0.6%), and Gyeongnam (-0.5%) experienced net outflows.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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