S. Korea expected to be one of world's oldest countries in 2070

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea is expected to be one of the world's oldest countries in 2070 due to the fastest population aging, statistical office estimate showed Friday.

The proportion of South Korean people aged 75 or higher to the country's total population stood at 7.7 per cent in 2023, according to Statistics Korea.

It was forecast to rise to 16.0 per cent in 2037 and 30.7 per cent in 2070, said Xinhua.

The South Korean figure in 2070 was estimated to be the highest among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the statistical agency said, citing the United Nations World Population Prospects 2022.

The 2070 estimates for Japan, Spain, Italy, Poland and the United States came in at 25.6 per cent, 24.8 per cent, 24.1 per cent, 22.6 per cent and 16.0 per cent respectively.

The proportion of South Korean people aged 65 or higher was forecast to climb from 18.4 per cent in 2023 to 31.9 per cent in 2037 and 46.4 per cent in 2070.

Among those aged 65-74, 59.6 per cent expressed hope in 2022 to get a job in the future. It was up 11.9 percentage points from 10 years earlier.

The reading for those aged 75-79 advanced 11.8 percentage points to 39.4 per cent in the cited period.

In 2021, 59.3 per cent of those aged 65-74 said their income was insufficient compared to their average living cost.

The corresponding figure for those aged 75 or higher was 63.8 per cent in 2021. - BERNAMA-XINHUA