Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The population crisis is becoming a new social issue experienced by many countries. One country that is struggling hard to face this problem is South Korea.
Report The Korea Times on Thursday (4/1/2024), said that the number of new students in elementary schools (SD) is expected to fall below 400,000 students in 2024 for the first time. This figure paints a gloomy picture of the low birth rate in Ginseng Country.
According to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of children entering elementary school this year was 413,056 as of December 20. The government calculated this number based on a census conducted by local community centers until October.
In Seoul, the number of children entering elementary school this year was 59,492, down 10.3% compared to the previous year. The number decreased sharply from 78,118 children in 2019 to 66,324 children in 2023.
The number of new elementary school students is expected to continue to fall significantly in the coming years because the number of new born babies is also decreasing drastically.
The government recorded that the number of children born in 2019 was only 302,676, down from 357,771 in 2017 and 326,822 in 2018.
Due to these worrying figures, the government has determined that one of the main policy priorities to focus on this year will be efforts to overcome the population crisis.
“We need a completely different approach as we look for the causes and solutions to this problem,” President Yoon Suk Yeol said in his New Year's speech. “We must find out the real reasons for the low birth rate and identify effective measures.”
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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