According to Yonhap:
North Korea is expected to become larger and older in 40 years with its population growing at a slower pace, data showed Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, North Korea’s population is estimated to rise 10 percent by 2050 to 26.96 million from this year’s 24.45 million.
The census bureau also projected that South Korea’s population will decrease 11 percent from 48.75 million last year to 43.37 million in 2050.
North Korea’s population has been on a steady increase since 1995, when it totaled 22.11 million, and the trend is likely to continue into 2050, the bureau said.
The population growth rate, however, is forecast to dwindle from 0.5 percent this year to a negative growth of 0.1 percent in 40 years, the data showed.
The slower rate of population growth will bring down the North’s ranking worldwide in 2050 to 64th among 228 countries. It ranked 48th this year, according to the agency.
North Korea’s birthrate is forecast to drop to 1.7 in 2050 from 2.0 in 2011, while its life expectancy is estimated to increase to 78 in 2050 from this year’s 69, indicating North Korea will face an aging society.
The agency did not mention what exactly would attribute to such changes in the country’s demographics, but said on its Web site that the estimates were based on the census each country conducted while also taking into account political and social variables alongside specific factors such as natural disasters.
A separate U.N. report published last year found that North Korea’s population is to increase by 600,000 to 24.6 million in 2050.
Information on the DPRK’s last census can be found here.
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N. Korea’s population expected to rise to 27 mln by 2050
Yonhap
2011-7-12
