MOSCOW, November 23 (Sputnik) — Women are expected to outnumber men in South Korea in 2015, with the country's working age population reaching its peak in 2016, Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday with reference to a government forecast.
According to the forecast, the number of women is predicted to reach 25.31 million in 2015, as opposed to 25.30 million men, and will mark the first time since 1960 when female population outnumbers male population.
The number of men in the country should peak in 2029 at 25.91 million and will be followed by decline, while the biggest number of women should be registered in 2031 at 26.26 million before contracting.
The forecast also expects the number of people over 65 to increase dramatically and to hit 7.12 million in 2017, compared to 6.39 million in 2014. By 2025, the number of people over 65 will exceed 10 million. In 2026, people over 65 will account for more than 20 percent of South Korea's population.
The working age population is expected to reach 37.04 million in 2016 before falling down in 2017.
The number of working people in the country will climb to 28.65 million in 2026 and drop to 23.33 in 2060. The country's total population will rise to 52.16 million by 2030 and is forecast to start shrinking the following year.
