Signal Korea's economically active population peaks around 2028 and edges down to 29.45 million by 2033

Summary

KEIS projects that Korea's economically active population will rise from 29.203 million in 2023 to 29.626 million in 2028 before slipping to 29.451 million in 2033. Annual growth, which averaged 0.9 percent between 2018 and 2023, would drop to only 0.1 percent over the following decade. Measured on the population aged 15 to 64, the labour force shrinks from 25.580 million to 24.890 million by 2028 and to 23.954 million by 2033, with the decline widening over time. The report expects this narrower labour force to start contracting in earnest from around 2025 as the baby-boom generation ages. Taken together, the figures describe a labour force that stops growing within the outlook period rather than one that merely grows more slowly.