SEOUL, KOREA - Korea will see the number of women surpass that of men next year for the first time in history. As for economically active population (those aged between 15 and 64), the number is likely to peak at 2016 and turns to a diminishing trend afterward.
According to a long-term demographic projection by the National Statistical Office on November 23, next year's female population will rise to 25.31 million overtaking that of male population (25.30 million). This is the first time since 1960 when the government started compiling the statistic.
The sex ratio (the number of boys per every 100 girls) was 116.5 in 1990. But the figure has since steadily declined to 105.3 last year. In contrast, the life expectancy for women has increased to 84.0 years of age while that for men stays at 77.2 years.
The statistical office also said that the number of economically active population of 35.98 million as of 2010, accounting for 72.8 percent of all population, will stop growing from 2016 when the figure will reach 37.04 million (72.9% in total). It will keep falling after that and drop to as low as 49.7 percent in total (21.87 million) by 2060. The total population will also diminish as the number of deaths will surpass that for births from 2028.
Article provided by The Korea Economic Daily
