South Korea maintains the spot for lowest fertility rates in the world, increasing concern
South Korea's democratic indicators are raising concerns for the country as the fertility rate of the country has yet again seen a drop. South Korea is a fast developing country and with it the fertility rate in the country are sharply declining. As of now, South Korea's fertility rate is the lowest in the whole world.
Drop in the fertility rate
As per data from Statistics Korea, the fertility rate of the country has dropped 0.72 in 2023 as compared to 0.78 in the year 2022. This is below the required rate of 2.1 child per woman to keep the population steady which is also lower than the rate of 1.24 in the year 2015 when the cost of housing and education were lower.
South Korea is the only country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development(OECD) to have the fertility rate lower than 1 ever since the year 2018. The country has been trying to reverse the trend and had billions of dollars for the same but has visibly failed in doing so.
South Korea also the has the worst gender pay gap in the OCED as women in Korea are paid 2/3 of what is paid to paid.
Why are South Korean women deciding not to have babies?
According to media reports, South Korean Women are focusing more on their careers which makes them take the decision to not have babies as they will not be able to pay the same attention to their jobs if they have children to take care for. In South Korea, women are mostly the care giver to children which consumes their majority day time. If they take a a break for several years to take of their small babies, and then rejoin the work force later on, their salary is also affected. This is the reason, women are discouraged from having babies. The cost of housing and education has also gone up in S. Korea making it hard to afford children.
Women even want to have babies, but slide the option to grab the promotion in their jobs.
Fertility rates further drops in South Korea
Fertility rate to drop further
The country is expecting a further drop in the fertility rate this year to 0.68. The countries capital Seoul is suffering the most with the lowest fertility rate of 0.55 in 2023. Seoul is also the most expensive city in the country with the highest housing price.
Political parties makes promises
Before the upcoming elections in April, the main political parties in South Korea promised to build more houses for the public and make it easier for people to get loans, with the goal of encouraging more births. This is because there is a worry about the country facing a decline in population. In South Korea, getting married is typically seen as a step before having children, but fewer people are getting married in the country.
The political parties are trying to figure out why married couples are choosing not to have babies, and they want to focus their policies on addressing this issue to increase the birth rate. Despite spending a significant amount of money on things like childcare subsidies since 2006, the country's fertility rates are still at a record low.
South Korea is not the only country in the region dealing with a population that is getting older quickly. Japan also recently announced that the number of babies born in 2023 is the lowest it has been for eight years in a row. Japan's fertility rate hit a record low in 2022, as did China's, reflecting a larger trend in the region.
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