Category: South Korea

UN Says New Measures Needed to Address Asia Population Issues

Editors

RON CORBEN writes at VOICE OF AMERICA:

BANGKOK — The chief of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for Asia governments to give higher priority to women’s development programs. Babatunde Osotimehin says countries should  address increasing population concerns with what he called “foresight and justice”.

Greater empowerment for women

U.N. Population Fund Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin is calling for greater empowerment of women and young girls to address issues of social inequality and to boost economies as women take up greater roles in development.

Before this week’s Asian Population conference in Bangkok, Osotimehin says empowering women would reduce violence against women and help boost economic and social development.  “Violence against women would reduce considerably, it would reduce the issues of teenage and early marriages, and it would reduce those things, which at this point in time are present in many parts of the world, particularly in this part of the world,” he said. READ MORE.

Korea Herald: Population Will Surpass 50 Million this Saturday

Editors

AN EDITORIAL TODAY IN THE KOREA HERALD SAYS:

Korea’s population including foreign residents is projected to surpass 50 million this Saturday. It is estimated to peak at 52.16 million in 2030 before declining gradually to 49.81 million in 2045, according to a projection by Statistics Korea.

It took about half a century for the country to double its population, which stood around 25 million in the early 1960s.

Korea now accounts for 0.71 percent of the world population, up from 0.61 percent in 1983 when its population topped 40 million.

Coupled with its per capita income above $20,000, the landmark population figure appears to give Koreans some sense of pride about their achievements over the past decades.

Local media has shed light on Korea becoming the seventh country with a population of over 50 million whose per capita income exceeds $20,000. READ MORE.