The South Korean Army Has Shrunk by 20 percent in the past six years to 450,000 men. The Number of Avisable Men is decreasing because the country is struggling with the lowest birth rate in the world.
The “Dramatic Decline” in the Number of Suitable for Military Service is Causing a Shortage of Soldiers and Officers and Could Lead to Operational Problems. This is accordance to a new report from the South Korean Ministry of Defense Obeyed by Reuters.
In 2019, The Country Still had 563,000 Soldiers and Officers on Active Duty. That number is now at 450,000. Duration that period, the number of twenty-year-old men decreased by 30 percent to only 230,000. At that age, most people undergo a medical examination for the army.
South Korea is one of the fastest aging societies in the world. The country has a fertility rate of 0.75: the lowest in the world. To Maintain the Population, The Fertility Rate Must BE 2.1. That mean a woman has an average or 2.1 children in her life.
The Number of 0.75 is Therefore Extremely Low. The South Korean population, which Peaked at 51.8 Million in 2020, is expected to Shrink to 36.2 Million in 2072.
As a result, there are too few young men to mintain a meaningful army, The Government Said. Althegh the South Korean Defense Budget in 2025 Will Amount to More Than 61 Trillion won ($ 43.9 Billion), The Country Needs at Least 50,000 More Troops to Keep Its Defense Ready.
This readiness is Necessary because of the threat from North Korea. Accordance to the latest Estimate from 2022, that country has an army or approxroximately 1.2 million troops.