Seoul's population to drop by one million by 2040: Report

2040년 서울, 인구 900만명에 50대도 젊은이…1~2인 가구 보편화
A think tank in Seoul projects that by the year 2040... the number of people living in the Korean capital will drop by one million due to low birth rates and rising home prices.
With the working-age population and average household size also expected to shrink, an economic slowdown seems inevitable as well.
Oh Jung-hee gives us a preview of the possible grim future.
Seoul in the year 2040 could look a lot different than it does now... with a smaller and older population.
A report by the Seoul Institute, based on data from Statistics Korea and estimates from the city government,... projects Seoul's population to shrink to just over nine million from today's ten million.
That's a figure last seen in the early 1980s.
The think tank says not only will the country's overall low birth rate cause a decline,... but exorbitant housing costs in Seoul will push people out of the capital.
The working-age population -- that is, from 15 to 64 -- is expected to fall by 30-percent from seven-point-five million to fewer than six million.
The report took these figures, combined with low consumer spending, as a harbingers of a further economic slowdown in Korea.
The size of the average household is also expected to shrink.
Over 60 percent of households will consist of either one person or a couple without kids,... both in equal proportion.
The traditional household of parents and children will account for 24-percent.
The report estimates the nation's average age will stand at 52. In 2013, it was just 39.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.

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[DamagedSoulonevoiceinbillion]

I think this is a good thing. Cities are too big, monetary distribution is imbalanced and energy resources are finite.