More than 1 in 10 South Koreans aged 65 and older are projected to suffer from dementia in 2040 as people live longer, a Ministry of Health and Welfare analysis showed Sunday.
The ministry said the dementia rate for over-65s, which fell from 9.17 percent in 2020 to 9.09 percent in 2025, is thought to rise again, reaching 10.34 percent by the end of the next decade. By 2050, the dementia rate for this age group is forecast to be 11.81 percent.
The analysis is based on the population projection and the dementia rate of Koreans provided by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
With rapid aging of the Korean population, the medical spending regarding dementia is expected to continue on the upward trend. The medical spending for dementia treatment of people aged at least 40 surpassed the 1 trillion won ($741 million) mark for the first time in 2012 to record 1.16 trillion won.
It passed the 2 trillion won and 3 trillion won marks each in 2016 and 2020, marking 3.37 trillion won in 2023.
If the current trend persists, the accumulated spending related to dementia is expected to be between 3.7 trillion won and 4.4 trillion won by 2030, according to the National Health Insurance Service-affiliated research institute.
A significant portion of the medical spending related to dementia treatment is devoted to those aged 80 or older, particularly among women, who live longer on average.
For male dementia patients, medical expenditure for the over-80s accounts for 52 percent of the total, but the proportion for the same age group among women is 82 percent.
Researchers said that by 2030, women will account for 65 percent of all dementia patients, while more than half of patients will be aged 80 and above.
Korea has become a "super-aged" society, with 20.3 percent of its population being 65 or older in 2025. It was the first official tally showing that 20 percent or more of the population of the country were senior citizens, which is the United Nation's definition of a super-aged society.
Last year's report by the Data Ministry indicated that the senior population will surpass the 30 percent mark by 2036, and the 40 percent mark by 2050.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
