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🇰🇷 South Korea /Health & Science

One in 10 Older South Koreans Could Have Dementia by 2040, Costs Forecast to Reach 4.4 Trillion Won

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • South Korea is projected to have 1.77 million dementia patients aged 65 and older in 2040, equal to 10.34% of that age group.
  • The number is forecast to rise from 960,000 in 2025 to 2.23 million in 2050, while the source says medical costs could reach 4.4 trillion won by 2040.

More than one in 10 South Koreans aged 65 and older is expected to live with dementia by 2040, according to projections in the Health and Welfare Ministry’s 2025 white paper.

The estimate puts the number of older dementia patients at 1.77 million, or 10.34% of the 17.15 million people aged 65 and over. The number has continued to grow, rising from 750,000 in 2020 to 790,000 in 2021, 830,000 in 2022, 910,000 in 2024 and 960,000 in 2025.

The projected increase does not stop there. The number of older dementia patients is expected to reach 1.2 million in 2030, with the prevalence rate rising to 9.22%. By 2050, the estimate reaches 2.23 million, or 11.81% of the older population.

As the patient population expands, the burden of medical expenses is also growing rapidly. The source says treatment costs could reach as much as 4.4 trillion won in 2040.

About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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