The prevailing view is that East Asia is destined to become the engine of global economic growth, an idea that began with Japan’s rapid postwar development during the latter part of the 1950s and lasting into the 1970s.
At the same time that Asia has become a center of growth, economic prosperity is producing demographic changes that over time will weigh economies down. An indication of what awaits other Asian nations can be found in Japan’s aging and shrinking population.
However, the author warns that demographic trends driving population decline threaten the longer-term wellbeing of Asian economies. The pandemic has touched every corner of the globe, claiming the lives of over 1 million people and infecting tens of millions more.
They instead point to their own research that suggests the Chinese population has been in decline since 2018. China currently enjoys a “population bonus,” meaning that the working-age population is still large enough to offset the economic impact of the declining birthrate.
South Korea recorded a natural population decline of 32,700 in 2020, while Taiwan posted a drop of 7,900 and Hong Kong a fall of 6,700.
East Asia, especially Chinese civilization, is regarded as one of the earliest cradles of civilization. Other ancient civilizations in East Asia that still exist as independent countries in the present day include the Japanese, Korean and Mongolian civilizations.
1,688,795,099The current population of Eastern Asia is 1,688,795,099 as of Wednesday, June 15, 2022, based on the latest United Nations estimates. Eastern Asia population is equivalent to 21.53% of the total world population. Eastern Asia ranks number 2 in Asia among subregions ranked by Population.
East Asia includes China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Thailand’s economic planning agency, the National Economic and Social Development Board, estimates that at current rates of demographic change, the country’s population is on track to begin a precipitous decline once it peaks in 2028. Greying Dragon.
Japan’s already low fertility rate is expected to drop further as the pandemic strains the economy and the government’s travel restrictions have drastically reduced the number of foreigners moving to the country.
The nation’s birthrate for the first half of 2020 has dropped by around 10% year-on-year, dragging the TFR for April to June down to 0.84 and solidifying South Korea’s status as a shrinking country. The problem does not stop here, though.
The country’s working-age population—defined as those aged 15 to 64 —has been on a downward trend since peaking in 1995, leading to dire labor shortages in a number of industries.
East Asian Bubble. In Japan, the cresting of the working-age population in the 1990s was preceded by the bursting of the real estate-driven bubble economy. Looking at property markets around East Asia, there are indications that similar mechanisms are at work.
East Asia has so far evaded the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, sparking speculation that the region will emerge ahead of the West to dominate the post-COVID era. However, the author warns that demographic trends driving population decline threaten the longer-term wellbeing of Asian economies. Read in other languages.
Unchecked population decline since 2008 has added to the troubles, casting a shadow over the long-term economic outlook of the country. South Korea and Taiwan passed into similar territory when their populations began to decline in 2020.