Demographic crisis looms over South Korea as it evolves into an aged society in one of the world’s fastest paces with minors already outnumbered by the elderly and working population thinning, latest census study showed.

According to the 2017 society data released by the Statistics Korea on Thursday, the number of Koreans aged 65 years or older stood at 7,076,000, taking up 13.8 percent of the total South Korean population. Children from the age of 0 to 14 totaled 6,751,000, or 13.1 percent share.

The United Nations defines a country “aging” when people aged 65 or older make up more than 7 percent of the population, “aged” when the ratio is at 14 percent to 20 percent and “hyper-aged” at a higher threshold.

The share of Korea’s total working population aged between 15 and 64 against total 51.446 million slipped to 73.1 percent from 73.4 percent in 2016.

The statistics office predicted the total population to start decreasing from 2032, given the pitiful birth rate with the economically active population shrinking to 49.6 percent by 2060. By then, each working Korean would be responsible to care for 82.6 people. The dependency ratio was 19.8 in 2017.

Korea’s notoriously subdued birth rate stood at 1.05 last year, a new low since the statistics bureau started compiling such data. Total 358,000 babies were born last year, down 11.9 percent compared to a year ago, while 286,000 people died, the highest since tally began in 1983 - another data to back a grayed society.

The average life expectancy of Koreans is rising steadily. Life expectancy of those born in 2016 is expected to reach 82.4 years, living 4.2 more years than those born in 2005.

By Lee Yu-sup and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]