KEI Spotlight

In his latest column for the Diplomat Magazine, KEI Senior Director Troy Stangarone rebuts the theory circulating in South Korea that unification would resolve the country's growing demographic gap. Although North Korea's population is younger than the South, North Korea's total fertility rate has fallen below replacement level. 

Stangarone highlights East Germany as a case study: fertility rate in East Germany fell precipitously after the unification – although it has now caught up with rates in West Germany, it remains below the replacement rate. If South Korea is looking to reverse its demogrpahic shift, unification is not going to be the silver bullet.   

Read the full article here