SEOUL, July 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's population logged the first fall last year due to chronically low childbirths and rapid population aging, statistical office data showed Thursday.
The country's population totaled 51.74 million on Nov. 1, 2021, down 91,000 from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It has marked the first decline since the statistical agency began to compile census in 1949.
The population included South Korean nationals and foreign residents who stayed in the country for over three months.
The number of South Korean nationals reduced 45,000 over the year to 50.09 million last year, while the reading of foreign residents retreated 46,000 to 1.65 million.
The population fall was attributable to the chronically low birthrate, caused by the younger generation who delayed or gave up on getting married or having babies amid the soaring housing prices and economic hardships.
Aging also contributed to the lower population. South Korea was widely forecast to become a super-aged society in 2025, in which the portion of those aged 65 or higher reaches 20 percent of the total population. ■