---
title: "More South Koreans Died Than Were Born in 2020"
description: "The year 2020 marks the first time that South Korea recorded more deaths than it did new births. That has officials concerned about the long-term implications of a declining population, the BBC reports. Soon, the government will make “fundamental changes” to make sure the population decline doesn’t get any steeper. The population drop wasn’t massive, […]"
date: "2021-01-04"
modified: "2021-01-04"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/more-south-koreans-died-born-2020"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "demographics"
  - "South Korea"
  - "the digest"
---

# More South Koreans Died Than Were Born in 2020

![South Korea recorded more deaths than births for the first time last year, and the government is trying to pay new parents to reverse the trend.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/more-south-koreans-died-born-2020.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Pixabay\</em\>*

## Sudden Drop

The year 2020 marks the first time that South Korea recorded more deaths than it did new births.

That has officials concerned about the long-term implications of a declining population, *[the BBC ](<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55526450>)*[reports](<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55526450>). Soon, they say the government will make "fundamental changes" to prevent the population decline from getting any steeper.

## Baby Bonus

The population drop wasn't massive. The tally of 307,764 deaths compared to 275,800 births represents a loss of just 31,874 people — small compared to the country's [population of 51.3 million](<https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/south-korea-population/#:~:text=South%20Korea%202020%20population%20is,(and%20dependencies)%20by%20population.>) — but that's still 10 percent fewer births than in 2019.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced new cash incentives to support new parents last month, according to the *BBC*. Starting in 2022, the families of each newborn will be given 2 million won (about $1,850) to help cover prenatal care on top of about 300,000 won (about $275) each month until the baby's first birthday.

## Unresolved Issues

If the incentives don't work and the downward trend continues, South Korea could someday face similar issues to Japan, which has struggled in recent years to [replace its aging workforce](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/elderly-japan-exoskeletons>).

But cash for medical care may not be enough, according to the *BBC*, as unaffordable real estate and the lack of work-life balance seem to be major, unaddressed factors in young families' decisions to not have kids.

**READ MORE:** [Alarm as South Korea sees more deaths than births](<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55526450>) \[*BBC*\]

**More on demographics:** *[The Elderly in Japan Are Using Exoskeletons to Delay Retirement](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/elderly-japan-exoskeletons>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)