Elon Musk Warns South Korea’s Demographic Decline Could Undermine Its Future

By Staff, Agencies

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has warned that South Korea’s plunging birthrate could lead to such severe population decline that North Korea would not even need to launch an invasion to gain the upper hand.

Musk made the comments during a January 7 episode of the Moonshots podcast, hosted by Peter Diamandis, where the two discussed artificial intelligence, the future of humanity, and global demographic trends.

While addressing the risk of population collapse, Musk highlighted South Korea as a stark example. He noted that the country’s birthrate is roughly one-third of the replacement level, calling the situation extreme.

According to Musk, if current trends continue, South Korea’s population could shrink to about 3 percent of its present size within three generations. He argued that such a dramatic decline would leave the country so underpopulated that North Korea “could just walk across” without the need for military action.

The remarks echo Musk’s earlier warnings about South Korea’s demographic trajectory. In a March 2023 interview with Fox News, he described the country as one of the most severe cases of low fertility, again predicting a population drop to 3 or 4 percent of current levels over three generations. In 2022, Musk also wrote on X that South Korea, alongside Hong Kong, was experiencing the fastest population collapse in the world.

During the podcast discussion, Musk also spoke more broadly about aging societies, pointing to what he described as a telling demographic indicator: when sales of adult diapers surpass those of baby diapers.

South Korea, Musk said, crossed that threshold years ago, underscoring his view that the country is already deep into a demographic decline.