The number of young men eligible to serve in the South Korean military will drop by over 30 percent between 2020 and 2025, while the country's productive population will halve in 50 years.

During an emergency economic meeting on population policies on Thursday, the government projected the number of 20-year old men to plunge to 236-thousand in 2025, a 30-point-8 percent decrease from 334-thousand in 2020. 

The productive population, measured as individuals between the ages of 15 and 64, is expected to decrease to roughly 35-point-61 million in 2025, from 37-point-38 million in 2020. The figure is expected to shrink by more than 50 percent to 17-point-37 million in 2070.

Amid intensifying concentration in the capital region, other major  metropolitan cities like Busan and Daegu will see population decreases exceed 10 percent in the next 20 years.

Korea's fertility rate, already the world's lowest, is likely to decrease further to 0.70 in 2024 as the pandemic-related fallout creates additional downward trends.