"Children's Laughter Fades"... 23% of Elementary Schools Have 60 or Fewer Students

Declining Birthrate Likely to Increase Mini Schools and Kindergartens
Elementary Schools with Fewer Than 30 Students Quadruple Compared to 20 Years Ago

As the low birthrate problem intensifies, it has been revealed that one out of five elementary schools nationwide has a total enrollment of 60 students or fewer. This means the average number of students per grade is 10 or less.

According to the "2023 Education Statistics Yearbook" released by the Korea Educational Development Institute on the 22nd, among the 6,175 elementary schools nationwide (excluding branch schools) last year, 1,424 schools had a total enrollment of 60 students or fewer. By region, Jeonnam had the highest number with 212 schools. This was followed by ▲Gyeongbuk 207 schools ▲Jeonbuk 206 schools ▲Chungnam 177 schools ▲Gyeongnam 168 schools ▲Gangwon 165 schools ▲Gyeonggi 107 schools ▲Chungbuk 100 schools ▲Incheon 17 schools ▲Busan and Jeju 15 schools each ▲Ulsan 9 schools ▲Gwangju 8 schools ▲Daejeon 7 schools ▲Sejong 4 schools ▲Daegu 3 schools. Seoul also had 4 schools with 60 students or fewer.

On the 4th, children are leaving Wonmyeong Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The photo is unrelated to the article content. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The number of elementary schools with 60 students or fewer is gradually increasing. In 2003, there were 610 schools (11.2%), which rose to 1,188 schools (20.1%) in 2013. The number of elementary schools with 30 students or fewer is also rapidly increasing. Last year, there were 584 schools (9.5%) with 30 or fewer students, which is 4.1 times the 141 schools (2.6%) in 2003.

The number of kindergarteners is also sharply declining. Among the 8,441 kindergartens nationwide last year, 2,617 kindergartens (31.0%) had 10 or fewer students. This is more than double the number in 2013 (1,234 kindergartens, 14.2%).

As the decline in birthrate becomes more serious, the number of "mini schools and kindergartens" is expected to increase further. According to the "2023?2029 Elementary, Middle, and High School Student Population Projections (Revised)" announced by the Ministry of Education and the Korea Educational Development Institute on the 16th, the number of elementary, middle, and high school students is estimated to decrease from 5,131,000 this year to 4,833,000 in 2026. By 2029, it is projected to drop to 4,275,000, a 16.7% decrease compared to this year.

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