SEOUL: South Korea’s population fell for the first time in 2020, with more people dying than were born, the government said on Monday, warning that towns in poor regions faced a "crisis of extinction".
The world’s 12’th-largest economy has one of its longest life expectancies and one of its lowest birthrates, a combination that presents a looming demographic disaster.
As of December 31, South Korea had 51,829,023 people, down 20,838 from a year earlier, according to data released by the interior ministry.
