Briefly Noted: East Asia's Demographic Crisis
We've been hearing a lot about China lately, so the article I've linked here seems timely in offering a certain balance to accounts of China's seemingly inexorable rise. The main focus of the article is naturally on the effect that the demographic crisis will have on East Asian economies. There are also other social problems that will only get worse as the demographic crisis continues, such as the imbalance between the male and female portions of the population.
East Asia has so far evaded the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, sparking speculation that the region will emerge ahead of the West to dominate the post-COVID era. However, the author warns that demographic trends driving population decline threaten the longer-term well being of Asian economies.
Two charts tell the story: