Demography

The region’s population is gradually ageing: in Kazakhstan, the number of elderly people has risen by around half a million in recent years. But the incidence of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and senile dementia is also on the rise, and families are often left to cope with them on their own.

The Agency for Koreans Abroad (OKA) wants to attract overseas Koreans, officially around seven million in 2025, 66 per cent of whom are now citizens of their country of residence. A support centre for overseas Korean start-ups is also under consideration.

The latest official demographic data show opposite trends in the two East Asian countries. Despite government measures and some tentative signs regarding fertility rates, Japan is failing to reverse the trend. South Korea is experiencing a rise in births among women over 30, but the country is still the most affected by the demographic winter.

Speaking at the Institute of Policy Studies conference, the government's number two warns that the fertility rate has not stabilised. The long-term risk is a reduction in the number of citizens, with consequences for the economy and society. The total population is approximately 3.66 million citizens, plus 0.54 million permanent residents and 1.91 million non-residents.

For the first time in several years, population growth in Kazakhstan is slowing down, and in more than half of the country's regions, especially in the north, the figures indicate a demographic decline. Even in one of the countries with the lowest population density in the world, 63.4% of people live in large cities.

For the 2025/26 school year, only one new student had enrolled, but was transferred to another Greek school. The number of students at the Greek High School in the Fener neighbourhood has dropped from 730 to 30 in just under 150 years. For the sake of the school and Christian education in Turkey “I’m calling on everyone to extend a helping hand,” said Principal Dimitri Zotos.

With a decree that the Legislative Council will be called upon to ratify, the authorities have decided to remove the 10-year limit on the storage of eggs and gametes from couples for assisted reproduction. The aim is to “better achieve reproductive autonomy”. But the causes of the decline in births are much deeper.

The measure was introduced in 1989 after the war to reduce the pressure on scarce resources. Removing the limit is meant to reverse the declining birthrate and the aging of the population. The drop is not uniform and affects mainly large centres like Ho Chi Minh City.

With China’s demographic crisis deepening, local authorities are ramping up subsidies and even sending mass text messages to promote marriage and family planning among young people. Yet results remain poor: in the first three months of 2025, marriages dropped by a further 8%. Rather than turning to government-backed dating apps and websites, young single Chinese prefer using video chats to find a potential partner.

Population growth has put pressure on the school system. The Department of Education plans to spend almost US$ 80 million to create new teaching positions. However, according to official statistics, 11 per cent of children and young people up to the age of 14 do not go to school due to household poverty. At present, 60 per cent of the 77.3 million Filipinos of working age are employed.

The number of older inmates rose from 2,801 to 6,504 between 2014 and 2023, from 8.4 per cent to 17.1 per cent. For South Korea’s political class, this emergency is a low priority because it is not a vote-getter; yet, the system risks collapse from inaction. The aging inmate population is also reflected in the aging of prison guards, three quarter of whom are aged 40 and 50.

In its biennial report, the National Economic and Social Development Council depicts a complex reality. About 40.5 per cent of people of reproductive age had no desire to marry in 2023, up from 35.7 per cent in 2017. Government policies have been ineffective so far in reversing the trend. For more and more Thais, the “Single Income, No Kids” lifestyle is very attractive.