South Korea has sent a dire warning to its citizens: Start having more babies, or our country might cease to exist.
If the nation's low fertility rate remains stable, South Koreans will go "extinct" by the year 2750, according to a study from Seoul's National Assembly Research Service. Assuming the fertility rate stays at last year's level of 1.19 children per woman, South Korea's population would shrink from 50 million to 20 million by 2100. A few hundred years later, the population would dwindle to nothing, the study found.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Andrew Fahie: the ex-BVI premier, cocaine-filled boats and drug trafficking plotUnder the radar Fahie's defense attorney claimed the British overseas territory leader was 'acting like the fictitious CIA agent Jason Bourne'
-
Ottawa climate talks: can global plastic problem be solved?In the spotlight Nations aim to draft world's first treaty on plastic pollution, but resistance from oil- and gas-producing countries could limit scope
-
Netherlands split on WFH for sex workersSpeed Read Councils concerned over 'nuisance' of at-home sex work, but others say changes will curb underground sex trade
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
