Korea 2nd Lowest in Birthrate After HK
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
South Korea's birthrate marked the second lowest in the world after Hong Kong as many couples are reluctant to have kids due to a lack of a child welfare support system and soaring education costs.
According to a UN report Wednesday, an average Korean couple had 1.2 children, behind Hong Kong's 0.9 among 156 countries. The figure is smaller than Japan's 1.27 and the average 1.6 in developed countries.
The worldwide birthrate decreased. An average fertile woman gave birth to 2.54 babies, compared with last year's 2.56. The wealthier a country is, the less likely its women will have many children. Niger, an inland country in West Africa marked 7.16 and overall underdeveloped countries saw an average of 4.6 children per couple.
There are 47.3 million people in South Korea, making it the 26th most populous place in the world. However, with the decreasing birthrate, the figure will shrink to 42.4 million by 2050, pushing it down the rankings to 44th, the report said.
Health Minister Jeon Jae-hee has said the low birthrate is a result of more women participating in the workforce and the lack of a welfare system in Korea. She also said that the cost of childrearing ― from kindergartens to medical fees and private education fees ― makes many couples delay having children.
The government has initiated a campaign to boost the birthrate. Families with multiple children are to be subsidized for childcare. About 470,000 are expected to benefit from the program.
``We all know the urgent need for fundamental measures to fight the low birthrate,'' Jeong Hye-eun, a ministry official, said.
The life span of Koreans has stretched to near the top of the world charts. By 2008, an average Korean man lived up to 75.1 years, taking 29th place worldwide. Men in Hong Kong lived the longest at 79.5 years, while those in Swaziland lived to 39.6, the shortest. The average life expectancy for North Korean men was 65.1 years.
The average Korean woman lived up to 82.3 years, taking 16th place. Japanese women topped the category living up to 86.2 years while Swaziland women lived the shortest at 39.1 years. North Korean women lived an average of 69.3 years.