Seoul

South Korea's population logged the first fall last year due to chronically low births and rapid population ageing, marking the first decline since census keeping began in 1949 in the country.

This was revealed by the country’s statistical office data on Thursday.

The country's population at 51.74 million on November 1, 2021 was down 91,000 from a year ago.

The population included South Korean nationals and foreign residents who have stayed in the country for over three months.

According to the data released by the government the number of South Korean nationals reduced 45,000 over the year, while foreign residents declined by 46,000.

The population fall was attributable to the chronically low birth rate caused by the younger generation who delayed or gave up on getting married or having babies amid the soaring housing prices and economic hardships.

Ageing also contributed to the lower population.

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South Korea is 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.