Birth Rate Is Low, The Number Of Elementary School Students In South Korea Is Estimated To Drop In 2024

Illustration of the need for proper baby sleep (Unsplash/Minnie Zhou)

JAKARTA - The number of new elementary school students in South Korea is expected to drop to less than 400,000 children for the first time next year. This is triggered by a record low birth rate in the country. Although the Ministry of Home Affairs has not yet completed its official tally, experts predict that the number of new elementary school students born in 2017 will fall below 400,000 in the 2024 school year. By comparison, in the 2023 school year, the number of new elementary school students born in 2016 reached 401,752 children, exceeding 400,000. The decline in the number of new students in the 2024 academic year can be seen from the declining number of births in 2017. According to data from Korean Statistics, reported by Yonhap-OANA, the number of newborns in South Korea decreased sharply from 406,243 in 2016 to 357,771 in 2017. This decline caused the total birth rate to fall from 1,172 in 2016 to 1,052 in 2017. It is estimated that the number of elementary school students in South Korea will drop below 300,000 children in the near future, as the total birth rate has fallen below 1 percent in 2018. The number of newborns in 2020 also decreased to 272,337 people, almost reaching 300,000. A significant decrease in the number of students could lead to the closure of schools nationwide, especially in suburban areas of rare population.

This condition can have a negative impact on the quality of education in the region, and ultimately have an impact on the entire education system in the country.