South Korea’s statistics agency forecast that the country’s population is likely to peak at 51.94 million in 2028, before declining to 39.29 million in 2067.
The demographic outlook came as deaths are set to outnumber births in Asia’s fourth-largest economy beginning this year.
South Korea plans to set up a government task force next month to come up with comprehensive measures to tackle demographic challenges.
The number of newborns in South Korea came to 326,900 in 2018, a sharp decline from a high of 1 million in 1970, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.