Gyeongnam, South Korea – January 2. The rate of youth outflow from Gyeongnam Province has shown a significant decline, according to data released by the Statistics Korea.

As of November last year, Gyeongnam's registered population stood at 3,230,701, marking a decrease from the previous month's figure of 3,231,132. The province has been experiencing a monthly population decline of about 1,000 people throughout 2023.

However, a positive trend emerged with a net inflow of 94 people in November. The province saw 23,186 people move in and 23,092 move out during the month. This marks two consecutive months of net inflow since May 2018.

From January to November 2023, the net outflow from the province was recorded at 8,743 people, a significant decrease compared to the 17,502 in 2022 and 15,138 in 2021. This suggests that the net outflow for the entire year of 2024 is expected to be around 10,000.

The reduction in net outflow can be attributed to a substantial decrease in youth migration. The 20-39 age group saw a net outflow of 469 people in November, bringing the total outflow for the first eleven months of the year to 9,798. This represents a nearly 50% decrease compared to the 17,644 youth who left the province during the same period in 2022.

Encouragingly, both the birth rate and marriage rate in Gyeongnam have shown signs of improvement. According to the October population trends released by Statistics Korea, the number of births in Gyeongnam increased by 1.8% to 1,107 compared to the same period in the previous year. Similarly, the number of marriages rose by 21.8% to 1,009.

Since March 2023, Gyeongnam Province has been implementing a comprehensive population crisis response plan focusing on three key areas: overcoming low birth rates, addressing youth outflow, and expanding the living population.

The provincial government attributes the decline in youth outflow to a combination of factors, including deteriorating living conditions in metropolitan areas.