Question

How population growth rate affected economic development in South Korea?

Answer 1

As regards sustainable growth and development, South Korea is one of the most highly respected countries in the world. The overall annual growth rate has reached 5 per cent over each of the last five decades, and the economy is now an innovation-driven, high-income country of just under 49 million people with a gross GDP of over $1 trillion and a per capita income of over $20,000 (adjusted PPP).The South Korean economy accounts for 2 percent of world GDP, and the country is making strides towards converging to Japanese rates of wealth.

Rural-to - urban migration in the earlier stage was the main component of this accelerated urbanization, but its contribution has diminished dramatically with the declining rural population. Alternatively, metropolitan sprawl and the setting up of new towns in remote hinterlands have accounted for much of the metropolitan population increase since 1980. In more recent years, industrialization and transformation have also taken on an increasingly significant role in both migration and urbanization.

Since 1970, the population 's propensity to settle in Seoul has diminished considerably, and demographic increases by relocation in urban areas nearly halted in the 1990s. This does not suggest an increasing trend of demographic decentralization of cities, but rather the geographical extension of Seoul 's proper functional government into surrounding areas and satellite cities, a phase that has created Greater Seoul, or a megalopolis of Seoul consisting of Seoul City, Inchon, and neighboring cities of Kyounggi Province. Greater Seoul 's share of migrants has been more than 50 percent since 1955 This concentration pattern had decreased between 1955-1980, but has significantly strengthened since 1980.

In addition, considering the comparatively small geographical scale, natural capital, and demographic scale of South Korea, an aging population exacerbates the danger that South Korea 's economy could slip behind its fellow developing countries. South Korea wants to maintain its investment of creativity and a conducive market climate to achieve sustained economic development.