Korea’s population is aging fast and the proportion of elderly will be more than 40 percent of the population by 2060, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday.
The report on Korea’s overall social trends in 2015 said that due to the continued decrease in birthrate and medical technology development, the number of seniors aged 65 and above will increase to 17.62 million people by 2060 from 6.62 million people in 2015.
Government officials said the triangular-shaped population pyramid of the 1960s will change into a kite-shaped one similar to Japan’s by the 2060s.
In particular, the economically productive population, which is made up of those between 15 and 64 years old, is expected to shrink from 36.9 million people in 2015 to 21.8 million in 2060. The population of those younger than 15 years old will plunge from 7.04 million people to 4.47 million over the same period, the report said.
