Korea's Rapid Aging Doesn't Have to Be Economic Destiny

April 3, 2025--Boosting AI adoption, increasing labor participation, and allocating resources more efficiently can help offset the economic drag from an aging population
Strong economic fundamentals and sound macroeconomic policies have helped the Korean economy through multiple shocks in recent years. However, potential growth has slowed more quickly than in other major advanced economies, and the economic expansion is likely to moderate this year.

The country also is aging more rapidly than almost all others. That's likely to reduce the labor supply and weigh on investment demand, further lowering growth and diminishing living standards. Aging could shrink the labor force by more than a quarter by 2050, leading to an average annual decline of 0.67 percentage point in potential growth, according to our latest Article IV report.