Dependent Older Generation Grows

Growing numbers of Koreans are too old and frail to work, often depending on others or the state to look after them.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of people who are tallied as economically inactive due to old age grew by a whopping 216,000 in the first half of this year to 2.48 million.

Economically inactive people are different from the unemployed because they are no longer looking for work.

The total number of economically inactive people in the country has declined for 16 straight months, but the number of economically inactive senior citizens rose. That means the number of elderly people who need to be cared for by the younger generation is increasing.

In 1999, the number of senior citizens who are economically inactive stood at 1.41 million.

According to a recent forecast by Statistics Korea, the total population of Korea will shrink to 50.19 million by 2040 and the economically active population between 15 and 64 will dwindle to 26.76 million.

But the elderly population aged over 65 will rise to 16.98 million. That would mean that for every 100 economically active individuals, there would be 63.4 elderly individuals to be taken care of.