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Korea's total population has started to decline amid a low birthrate, but the number of foreigners here is forecast to continue to increase, to make up of 4.3 percent of the population in 2040, a report showed Thursday.
After peaking at 51.84 million in 2020, the country's total population started to decline in 2021 and will likely further fall to 50.19 million in 2040, according to the report from Statistics Korea.
Despite a fall in Korean nationals, the number of foreign nationals who reside here for three months or longer will likely continue to increase on the back of sustained inflows of incoming foreigners.
The number of such came to 1.7 million in 2020, accounting for 3.3 percent of the total population. Their proportion is expected to hit 4 percent in 2035 and further rise to 4.3 percent five years later.
South Korea is grappling with demographic challenges from its chronically low birthrate and rapid aging.
From 2020 to 2025, the number of Korean nationals is expected to fall an average of 0.17 percent per year and will likely further decline 0.33 percent from 2035 to 2040.
On the other hand, the number of foreign residents is forecast to grow at the annual average rate of 0.29 percent from 2020 to 2025 and further rise 1.93 percent per year from 2025 to 2030, the report said.
The number of the so-called migration background population ― naturalized foreigners and their children as well as foreign residents ― reached 2.18 million in 2020, accounting for 4.2 percent of the total.
Such people are forecast to exceed 3 million in 2037 and rise to 3.23 million or 6.4 percent of the population in 2040, it showed. (Yonhap)
