The nation's statistical agency forecast that foreigners will account for around seven percent of the population by 2042.

According to Statistics Korea's demographic projection between 2022 and 2042 released on Thursday, the population, in terms of the median estimate, is expected to drop from 51-point-67 million in 2022 to 49-point-63 million in 2042.

The proportion of South Korean nationals is forecast to fall from 96-point-eight percent in 2022 to 94-point-three percent two decades later. During the same period, the proportion of foreigners will likely rise from three-point-two to five-point-seven percent.

In the upper estimate, foreigners are projected to account for six-point-nine percent of the total population in 2042.

The proportional change is expected to be more prevalent among the productive age population, with the number of South Koreans aged 15 to 64, by median estimate, dropping from 35-point-27 million in 2022 to 25-point-73 million in 2042. The number of foreigners in the same age group is predicted to rise from one-point-47 million to two-point-36 million in the same period.