N. Korea's working-age population to peak in 2020: report

The portion of North Korea's working age population is likely to peak in 2020 and trend lower going forward as the communist state faces demographic challenges such as a falling birthrate and its rapid aging, a report showed Monday.

Pyongyang's total fertility rate, which stood at 2.3 in 1990, has slipped to 2 in 2010, while it has also become an aging society since 2004 where more than 7 percent of the population is aged over 65, according to the report by the Bank of Korea.

The statistics used for the report were based on the United Nations' World Population Prospects, which estimates the population of countries in the 1950-2100 period.

The report noted that while the North's population is aging at a relatively slower clip compared with the South, the pace is still roughly 10 years faster than developing countries.

The report, meanwhile, projected the integration of the two Koreas to possibly delay aging in the two countries.

The two Koreas are likely to become an aged society, where more than 14 percent of the population is aged 65 or older, in 2022 if they are integrated, whereas the period will come in 2018 for South Korea if the two countries remain separated. (Yonhap)