April Population Movement Down 5.6% YoY... Impact of Decrease in Scheduled Housing Move-Ins

Statistics Korea, Domestic Population Movement Statistics

The number of movers last month declined again after a rebound the previous month. Statistics Korea attributed this to a decrease in short-term housing sales transactions and the number of houses scheduled for occupancy.

According to the "Domestic Population Movement Statistics for April 2023" released by Statistics Korea on the 24th, the number of movers last month was 455,000, down 5.6% (27,000 people) compared to the same month last year. The downward trend in the number of movers, which had continued since January 2021, increased in March for the first time in 27 months but returned to a decline after just one month.

Among total movers, 65.5% moved within the same province, while 34.5% moved between provinces. Compared to the same month last year, intra-provincial moves decreased by 5.8%, and inter-provincial moves decreased by 5.2%. The population movement rate, which is the number of movers per 100 people, was 10.8%, down 0.6 percentage points from the same month last year.

A Statistics Korea official analyzed, "The recent decrease in housing sales transactions, a decline in the young population who tend to move frequently, and an increase in the elderly population who move less are continuing to affect the population structure."

In April, net migration (inflow minus outflow) by province showed net inflows in nine provinces including Gyeonggi (3,960 people), Incheon (2,038 people), and Chungnam (1,277 people). Conversely, eight provinces including Seoul (-3,365 people), Busan (-1,392 people), and Gyeongnam (-996 people) experienced net outflows.

During the same period, net migration rates by province showed net inflows in Incheon (0.8%), Chungnam (0.7%), and Sejong (0.4%), while net outflows occurred in Ulsan (-0.7%), Gwangju (-0.6%), and Busan (-0.5%).