July Domestic Population Migration Hits 4-Year Low Amid Declining Home Sales

As the housing market slowed down, the number of domestic movers in July fell to its lowest level for the month in four years.

According to the Domestic Population Migration Statistics for July released by the National Data Agency today, the number of domestic movers last month stood at 468,000, down 15.5% (86,000) from the same month a year earlier.

Based on figures for July, this is the lowest since 2022 (460,000), marking a four-year low.

The number of movers in July had increased from 482,000 in 2023 to 512,000 in 2024 and 553,000 in 2025, before dropping back into the 400,000 range after three years.

Population migration has been on a long-term downward trend due to a decrease in the youth population, who are typically the most mobile.

In the short term, it is influenced by market conditions such as housing transactions.

Intra-provincial movers accounted for 66.1% of the total, while inter-provincial movers made up 33.9%.

Intra-provincial migration increased by 10.1%, whereas inter-provincial migration decreased by 24.3%.

The migration rate, which indicates the number of movers per 100 people, stood at 10.8%, down 2.0 percentage points.

The migration rate was also the lowest for any July since 2022 (10.6%).

An official from the Data Agency explained, "(The housing sales volume in) May and June, which affects July population migration, decreased by 0.9% compared to the same period last year, and apartment completion figures also dropped by 60.5%, which appears to have had an impact," adding, "There also seems to be a base effect, as housing-related indicators showed strong trends in July of last year."

Looking at net migration—calculated as in-migration minus out-migration by province—six cities and provinces, including Gyeonggi (5,106), Incheon (2,547), and South Chungcheong (704), recorded net population inflows.

Conversely, 10 cities and provinces, including Seoul (-6,108), South Gyeongsang (-813), and Busan (-661), recorded net outflows.

Net migration rates by province were highest in Incheon (1.0%), North Chungcheong (0.5%), and Gyeonggi (0.4%).

In contrast, the rates were lowest in Seoul (-0.8%), Ulsan (-0.4%), and Sejong (-0.4%).

(Photo: Provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.