By Alex Jensen
SEOUL (AA) – South Korea’s bustling capital city is to become significantly less busy within three decades, with an expected population drop of 1.13 million, according to government data released Thursday.
Seoul’s population is to fall to 8.81 million by 2045 based on the data released by Statistics Korea.
The forecast is due in large part to the South’s aging society, as the nation’s economically active population is to plummet by 10 million between this year and 2045.
South Korea’s chronically tame birth rate is the OECD’s lowest, while last year’s 406,300 babies born was the smallest number the country has ever recorded.
In line with the South’s demographic shift, Statistics Korea also expects residents of big cities to flee due to higher living costs.
Busan, South Korea’s second-biggest city, is anticipated to lose around 470,000 of its 3.45 million citizens – but less built-up areas like Seoul’s surrounding Gyeonggi province are expected to see population growth over the same period, so that the country’s overall figure will still be as high as the 2015 level of 51.05 million people.
