Gyeongju escapes population-decline watch list after 5 years

Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, has been reclassified from a "population-decline attention area" to a "population vitality plus area" under the government's latest redesignation of population-decline regions, the city announced Wednesday.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety released the redesignation results, which sort municipalities into three tiers based on demographic and economic conditions.

Under the ministry's framework, areas at risk of regional extinction due to population loss are designated "population-decline areas," those with a high risk of decline are labeled "population-decline attention areas," and attention-area localities that have shown improvement are upgraded to "population vitality plus areas" — each category carrying different levels of government funding support.

The redesignation came five years after the initial classification in 2021, when the government designated 89 areas nationwide as population-decline areas and 18 others, including Gyeongju, as population-decline attention areas in response to the demographic crisis.

This round of redesignation assessed not only population changes but also regional economic conditions and quality of life.

Gyeongju attributed its upgraded status to population policies it has pursued in recent years, including job creation, improvements to residential conditions and an expansion of its resident population base.

The city's total fertility rate rose from 0.88 in 2024 to 0.94 last year.

"This designation reflects our efforts to strengthen Gyeongju's competitiveness by leveraging its strengths in industry, tourism and culture," Mayor Ju Nak-young said. "We will consistently improve living conditions to build a vibrant Gyeongju where people want to stay and return."