South Korea expects its record-low fertility rate to plumb new depths annually for a few more years, worsening its demographic challenges.
The number of babies expected per woman probably dropped this year to 0.72 and will continue to fall through 2025, when it’s expected to reach 0.65, the statistical office said Thursday in its latest population forecasts. South Korea already has the world’s lowest fertility rate at 0.78 as of 2022.
The projections paint a darker picture of demographic trends for South Korea than they did two years ago, when authorities forecast that the fertility rate would bottom out at 0.7 in 2024 before rising again.