Population Expected to Increase to 3.05 Million by 2035 Then Decline
Last Year's Total Fertility Rate at Historic Low of 0.94
Comprehensive Policy for Single-Person Households and Measures to Expand Working-Age Population Developed
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] It has been revealed that the working-age population in Incheon will start to decline from this year, and the population imbalance between the old downtown and the new town is also intensifying.
According to Incheon City on the 4th, the future population projection announced by Statistics Korea in June last year shows that Incheon’s total population, which reaches 2.95 million this year, is expected to increase to 3.05 million by 2035 and then enter a declining trend.
In particular, from this year when the baby boom generation (born 1955?1963) enters the elderly group, the working-age population (ages 15?64) is expected to start decreasing, with a predicted decline of about 630,000 people over the next 30 years.
Moreover, the total fertility rate, which represents the average number of children a woman of childbearing age (15?49 years) is expected to have in her lifetime, recorded an all-time low of 0.94 last year (national average 0.92), pushing the population toward a demographic cliff.
Incheon is also facing serious regional population imbalances. The old downtown is facing the risk of regional extinction due to population outflow and rapid aging, while the new town is experiencing an influx of population due to rapid urban development, causing social problems such as overcrowded classrooms as students flock there.
In fact, Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun are classified as 'regions at risk of extinction,' and even within areas with high population growth rates such as Jung-gu and Yeonsu-gu, the population gap between the old downtown and the new town is widening.
This is causing not only an imbalance in living conditions but also raising concerns about additional problems such as population outflow due to disparities in quality of life.
Accordingly, Incheon City has made resolving regional imbalances its top priority and is promoting an 'Incheon-type population policy' that reflects changes in population structure and regional characteristics.
The city plans to develop multifaceted policies, including measures to increase the birth rate, policies that young people can feel directly, and comprehensive package policies for single-person households.
It will also promote social integration policies for early settlement of immigrants, prepare plans to expand the working-age population by increasing economic participation of the elderly, women, and youth, expand social safety net policies, and actively discover policy response tasks linked to government policies.
Each policy will be implemented by dividing tasks into immediate actions and mid- to long-term projects, considering urgency and acceptability. For example, 'expanding support measures for infertility' is classified as an immediate task, while 'eliminating infertility causes due to environmental factors' is classified as a mid- to long-term task.
The city plans to form a dedicated task force with seven organizations including the Incheon Institute, Incheon Office of Education, Incheon Urban Corporation, Incheon Transportation Corporation, Incheon Technopark, Incheon Women & Family Foundation, and Incheon Welfare Foundation to prepare comprehensive measures, recognizing issues such as suicide, traffic accidents, adoption, and education as population problems and including them in population policies.
In addition, the city intends to actively engage in raising awareness of the importance and seriousness of population policies, forming social consensus through citizen contests and surveys, meetings and forums, online and offline education, and production of promotional videos.
Mayor Park Namchun stated, "This year, when the baby boom generation enters the elderly group, is the golden time to solve population problems not only in Incheon but also in South Korea," and added, "I hope that the Incheon-type population policy will achieve its intended results and be disseminated as a model case that local governments nationwide can refer to in the future."
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