According to the 2023 birth data released by South Korea, the number of newborns in South Korea decreased by 7 year-on-year last year7% and the total fertility rate is 072, both set an all-time low. South Korea's neighbor, Japan, is also suffering from declining fertility. "It costs too much money to raise and educate children" is the main reason for reducing fertility intentions in these countries.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the latest birth data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday (28th) showed that the number of newborns in South Korea decreased by 7 percent year-on-year last year7% and the total fertility rate is 072, both set an all-time low.
This is despite the fact that South Korea has spent billions of dollars trying to reverse the trend that has led to a continued decline in population. However, since 2018, South Korea has been the only member of the OECD (OECD) with a fertility rate below 1. Last year, 2023, it was the fourth consecutive year that the fertility rate was below 1. Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea's total fertility rate increased in 2015 (124) After peaking, it has been on a downward trend for 8 consecutive years, and its decline is also expanding. And South Korea** does not have any optimistic expectations for this year's fertility rate. Last year, Statistics Korea estimated that the total fertility rate for this year would fall further to 068。
Yesterday (February 27), the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that the number of births in 2023 (the preliminary value, including foreigners) fell to 758,631, a decrease of 5 from the previous year1%。According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of births in Japan is declining faster than expected. Japan's National Institute of Social Security and Population Research predicts that if this trend continues, it will fall below 500,000 by 2035. Nikkei reported that Japan's marriageable age population will decline sharply after 2030, known as the "2030 cliff". Based on this, it is difficult to reverse the downward trend of Japan's birth rate in the future. According to the report, the flash report value of the number of marriages in Japan in 2023 is 4892.81 million pairs, a decrease of 59%。In Japan, where there are fewer children born out of wedlock, the number of marriages is directly related to the trend in the number of births.
It is too expensive to raise children and educate children" and the declining marriage rate are partly responsible for the decline in Japan's birth rate. In an interview with Nikkei, Kokuroichi, a professor at Hosei University in Japan, said, "In the era of free will, it is difficult to increase the marriage rate. Most of the measures implemented by Japan to reduce the birthrate are extensions of existing policies, and they are not fundamental measures."
He believes that the best way to increase the number of births is to "increase the number of children per couple". He said that the number of children per couple is now less than 2, but by increasing to about 3, the birth rate will reach about 2, which will prevent the number of births from decreasing to a certain extent. He also suggested giving 10 million yen (about 47 yuan.) to families with three children80,000 yuan).
At the beginning of December last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society held a meeting with experts to discuss solutions to the problem of low fertility. South Korea's ** Yoon Suk-yeol said that he would take the issue of low fertility seriously. He said that if the system of excessive competition in education was the direct cause of low fertility, efforts should be concentrated on correcting it.