hankyoreh

By Lee You-jin, staff reporter
The number of young people in Korea continues to decrease, leading to the prediction that in 50 years the youth population will decrease to half of current levels.
According to the 2012 Youth White Paper released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Jan. 7, the number of young people (aged 9-24, born between 1987 and 2002) was 10.2 million in 2012, accounting for 20.4% of the Korean population of 50 million. People aged 19 and 20 were the most numerous of the youth population at 6.9% each, while nine year olds only accounted for 4.7% of this number.
The population of people aged 9-24 peaked at 14.01 million in 1980 and has been falling ever since. By 2015, this population is expected to decrease by an additional 850,000. If the low birth rate continues, the youth population will to drop to 7.09 million in 2035 and 5.01 million in 2060, half of its current level.
In 2012, the sex ratio at birth for Koreans aged 9-24 was 111.7, which is much higher than the sex ratio for the overall population of 100.3. (This ratio refers to the number of male babies born per a hundred females.) Combining the children and youth populations (0-24 years), the gender ratio is 110.2. In other words, the gender imbalance is more severe among young people when children are not included. The gender ratio is highest among 22 year olds, at 116.5.
The sex ratio at birth for third children and above has continued to decrease. This ratio was 166.0 in 1996, 144.2 in 2000, 128.5 in 2005, 110.9 in 2010, and 109.5 in 2011. However, compared with the overall sex rate at birth in 2011 of 105.7, the ratio of third children who are male remains high.
　
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