The number of children in South Korea has fallen by 60% since its peak

South Korea is undergoing one of the world’s most rapid demographic transitions. Fertility rates — the number of children a woman has over her lifetime — have fallen rapidly over the last 50 years, and this is reflected in a rapidly aging population.

One of the clearest signs is the total number of children living in South Korea. In the chart, you can see that the number of children and adolescents under 15 years old is shrinking quickly.

The number of under-15s peaked around a decade later but has now fallen by 60%, from 14 million to less than 6 million.

This is a pattern we see in other countries such as Japan, China, and even Thailand — albeit at different rates.