South Korea has become a “super-aged” society with one in five people aged 65 or older, official data showed last week, underscoring the country’s deepening demographic crisis.

The number of people aged 65 and older stands at 10.24 million, accounting for 20% of South Korea’s population of 51 million, according to new data released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The United Nations classifies countries with more than 7% of the population 65 or older as an “aging society,” those with over 14% as an “aged society” and those with more than 20% as a “super-aged” society.

South Korea has been grappling with infamously low birth rates, dropping to just 0.72 in 2023, the world’s lowest, after years of decline.

Countries need a fertility rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable population, in the absence of immigration.

According to the ministry’s latest data, about 22% of women in South Korea are aged 65 or older, while the proportion of men over that age is nearly 18%, the interior ministry said.

The data underscores the demographic time bomb that South Korea and other East Asian nations are facing as their societies age just a few decades after their rapid industrialization.

Many European nations also face aging populations, but immigration helps them to mitigate the impact. East Asian countries like South Korea and Japan, however, have shied away from mass immigration to tackle the decline in their working age populations.

Experts say the reasons for the demographic shift across Asia include demanding work cultures, stagnating wages, the rising cost of living, changing attitudes toward marriage and gender equality, and rising disillusionment among younger generations. (SD-Agencies)

上周的官方数据显示，韩国已成为一个“超老龄化”社会，每五人中就有一人年龄在65岁或以上，突显了该国不断加深的人口危机。

韩国内政和安全部发布的最新数据显示该国65岁及以上的人口为1024万，占5100万人口的20%。

按照联合国的标准，当一个国家65岁及以上人口占比超过7%时，即被视为进入“老龄化社会”；超过14%时，则进入“深度老龄化社会”；而占比超过20%，则标志着该国已进入“超老龄化”社会。

韩国一直在努力应对低出生率，2023年的生育率更是降至0.72，创全球最低纪录。在没有移民的情况下，一个国家要维持人口稳定，生育率需达到2.1。

内政部表示，最新数据显示韩国约22%的女性年龄在65岁或以上，而同龄男性比例则接近18%。。这些数据突显了韩国和其他东亚国家在快速工业化进程后，仅用了短短几十年时间就遭遇了人口老龄化的严峻危机。

与许多欧洲国家相比，虽然它们也面临人口老龄化的问题，但移民在一定程度上缓解了这一压力。然而，韩国、日本等东亚国家却未能通过大规模移民来应对劳动年龄人口下降的问题。

专家指出，亚洲人口结构变化的原因复杂多样，包括苛刻的工作文化、停滞不前的工资水平、不断上涨的生活成本、对婚姻和性别平等态度的转变以及年轻一代日益加剧的幻灭感等。