South Koreans could die out by 2750 if birth rates stay low (and Japanese won't be far behind)

An expert on the ageing of populations has warned that many societies in the Asia-Pacific region are at risk of extinction after a report said South Koreans would disappear by 2750 if fertility rates did not increase.

The study, carried out by the National Assembly Research Service in Seoul, pointed out that the fertility rate had declined to 1.19 children per South Korean woman during her lifetime, significantly below the rate required to keep the population stable at around 50 million people.

A simulation conducted for Yang Seung-jo, an opposition politician and member of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, indicated last week that South Korea's population was on track to contract to 40 million people by 2056.

By the year 2136, there would be a mere 10 million South Koreans and the last citizen would die around 2750, the study claimed.

However, the research did not factor in possible leaps in the population due to immigration, for example, and is considered a "doomsday scenario" for South Koreans.

Nevertheless, Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of the economics of ageing at Japan's Tohoku University, believed the rapid decline in populations in the region was cause for deep concern.

"East Asia is basically historically rich in fertility, but in the modern era women have received higher levels of education and gone into the labour market," he said.