Busan, South Korea's second largest city, is "entering the disappearing stage" as its population shrinks
The survey shows that with the low birth rate and the aging population, Busan, South Korea's second largest city, is showing signs of "entering the disappearance stage" due to population shrinkage. According to South Korean media, Busan is the first major city in South Korea to show this sign.
Citing a report released by the Korea Employment Information Service at the end of June, Yonhap News Agency reported that Busan's population has dropped from 3.88 million in 1995 to 3.3 million in 2023. As of March this year, people aged 65 and over in Busan accounted for 23% of the city's total population, making it the only major city in South Korea to enter a "super-aged society."
According to relevant United Nations standards, a society is considered an aging society when the proportion of the population aged 65 and above exceeds 14%, and a super-aged society when the proportion of the population aged 65 and above exceeds 20%.
The "disappearance risk index" of a city mentioned in the report refers to the total number of female population aged 20 to 39 divided by the population aged 65 and above. An index greater than 1.5 indicates low risk, 1.0 to 1.5 indicates normal conditions, 0.2 to 0.5 is considered to be in the disappearance stage, and below 0.2 indicates high disappearance risk. Busan's disappearance risk index is 0.490, while the national average in South Korea is 0.615.
In April this year, Busan announced a new measure to attract foreign residents, hoping to increase the number of residents and promote economic development. According to this new regulation, foreign students who have graduated from colleges and universities in Busan or are in their last semester and have a confirmed graduation date can apply for a specific work visa from Busan City if their Korean proficiency meets the requirements. This visa allows foreigners to live in South Korea for 5 years, but they should live in areas designated by the government and work in specific fields, including manufacturing, processing, retail, transportation, service, education, social work, etc.
In recent years, the phenomenon of late marriage and non-marriage has increased in Korean society, the number of unmarried singles and elderly people living alone has increased, and problems such as serious population aging and low fertility rate have emerged.
The report on the demographic outlook released by the National Statistical Office of Korea in December 2023 shows that the population of Korea will reach a peak of about 51.84 million in 2020, and the number of deaths will exceed the number of births every year thereafter. According to this trend, the total population of Korea will drop to about 36.2 million in 50 years, of which nearly half will be aged 65 and above, and Korea will then become a super-aged society.
On June 19, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol announced that South Korea would enter a "state of population emergency" from that day, emphasizing the need to make every effort to address the low fertility rate. Data released by the Korea National Statistical Office this year showed that the number of registered marriages in South Korea in 2023 was 40% lower than 10 years ago. In 2023, the average number of children born to each woman of childbearing age in South Korea dropped to 0.72, the lowest number since relevant records were kept, far below the 2.1 required to ensure the stability of the national population.