South Korea’s population census shows the number of people aged 70 and above surpasses those aged 20 to 29 for the first time

Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea’s National Statistics Office released its “Population and Housing Survey” on the 12th, showing that due to low fertility rates and an aging population, the number of South Koreans aged 70 and over surpassed those aged 20 to 29 for the first time last year.

Statistics show that the population of South Koreans aged 20 to 29 reached approximately 6.3 million last year, a decrease of approximately 190,000 from the previous year, the largest decline among all age groups. The population of those aged 20 has declined for four consecutive years since reaching a peak of 7.03 million in 2020.

Last year, the number of South Koreans aged 70 and over reached approximately 6.54 million, the first time this number has surpassed the population of those aged 20 since relevant statistics began in 1925.

The largest age group in South Korea last year was those aged 50 to 59, at approximately 8.71 million.

Yonhap News Agency noted that, notably, due to large companies preferring candidates with work experience, the 20s generation is gradually losing ground in the job market. The employment rate for people in their 20s was 60.5% in August, down 1.2 percentage points from the same period last year, marking the 12th consecutive month of failure to recover. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for people in their 20s reached 5% in August, up 1 percentage point from the same period last year and the highest level for the same month in the past three years.