Hong Kong will pay $2560 for each infant born there: What situation are they facing and why is this action being taken?

Hong Kong on Wednesday announced it would now pay parents HK$20,000 ($2,560) for each newborn as part of an incentive policy. i.e around 2 lakh rupees to address the declining fertility rates in the city.

Why Hong Kong is coming up with this move and what is the fertility crisis in Hong Kong?

Understand the fertility crisis of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Family Planning Association survey mentioned decline of average number of children per married woman in hong kong has fallen to a historic low of 0.9 births per woman, whereas ideal birth rate is 2.1 per woman.

Data suggests that percentage of childless women is around 43.2%, means women’s having no single child. Whereas, women with one child is around 27.4% in Hong kong only.

Five elementary schools will not receive money for first-year classes, according to statements made by the city's education secretary Christine Choi in recent weeks, because there are not enough students enrolling. As claimed by several local news sites, the schools could be "killed."

As the number of students enrolling in schools declines, schools are shutting down.Last month, Tak Nga Primary School in Kowloon Tong made the announcement that it would cease Primary One classes in 2024–2025 and progressively shut down before closing in 2028.

What then are the contributing factors to this fertility problem?

1.High cost of living

The expense of having children is an important barrier for childbearing couples to have (more) children. Some families are lucky enough to have grandparents helping with childcare and housekeepers, which frees up parents to work full-time.

Other costs, however, are extremely high and include after-school tuition, interest classes, excursions, and much more. And why do we need them? Because a child needs a variety of what Hong Kong moms mockingly refer to as "supernatural skills" in addition to passing tests in order to remain competitive in society.

Working over ten hours a day and making less than HK$20,000 (US$2,547) a month, 29-year-old Daniel Wang from Hong Kong expressed his preference to be single rather than marry or start a family.

He said that his demanding job as an editor for a media company left him drained and that he frequently ended up sleeping at home on his days off.

2.Delayed marriage 

Additionally, there is a trend towards late marriage in Hong Kong among those who want to get married. One of the primary causes of women's infertility is age. Dr. Wong says, as a woman ages, her chances of carrying a pregnancy to term decline.

The likelihood of becoming pregnant decreases steadily for women between the ages of 30 and 35, and it sharply declines beyond 40.The quality of a woman's eggs and her ovarian reserves gradually decline with age. This is another reason of declining birth rates in hong kong.

Hong Kong bonus policy for new borns

In an effort to address this problem and stop the decline in birth rates, the government is now providing new parents with a one-time incentive of HKD20,000 ($2556). John Lee, the city's chief executive, revealed the most recent incentives on Wednesday during his yearly policy speech. The incentive can be accessed for a period of three years.

More than simply a cheque is being offered by the city government. In addition, Lee listed a number of additional initiatives to support new parents in his policy address. The one-year wait durations for families with infants in the public housing queue will be shortened in favor of these families. Increased tax discounts on house loan interest and domestic rentals will also be provided to parents.

The policy has not received much positive feedback from the public since, in the opinion of Hong Kong residents, the funds still fall short of covering the city's high living expenses.

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