Population Cliff Without Break... Natural Decrease for 37 Consecutive Months

19,000 Births in November... 4.3% Decrease YoY
Decline Continues for 84 Months... Population Decreases for 3 Consecutive Years

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyeong] It has been revealed that the domestic population has naturally decreased for 37 consecutive months. While the number of births has steadily declined, the number of deaths has increased due to aging and other factors.

According to the "November 2022 Population Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 26th, the number of births in November last year was 18,982, down 4.3% compared to the same month of the previous year. This is the lowest figure for November since monthly statistics began in 1981. The number of births has been declining for 84 consecutive months since December 2015.

The natural population decrease (number of births - number of deaths) was recorded at 11,125. This is because the number of births in November last year was only 18,982, while the number of deaths was 30,107, an increase of 6.1% compared to the same period last year. The domestic population has been on a negative trend for 37 consecutive months since November 2019. Looking at the regions by city and province, all areas except Sejong experienced natural population decline.

Based on the cumulative data from January to November last year, the population decrease reached 107,004. This means that more than 100,000 people naturally decreased in population during the year. This is 2.5 times the scale compared to the same period last year (42,633).

The annual natural population decrease last year is also expected to exceed 100,000. This surpasses the initial forecast by Statistics Korea at the end of 2021 (79,000) by more than 20,000. The domestic population has naturally decreased on an annual basis for three consecutive years: 2020 (-32,611), 2021 (-57,118), and now 2022.

Meanwhile, the number of marriages in November last year was 17,458, an increase of 2.2% compared to the same month of the previous year. The number of divorces was 8,498, a decrease of 3.1% compared to one year earlier.