Dear MEL Topic Readers,
South Korea fertility rate at new lows, dipping below 1.0 threshold
The fertility rate is the number of children who would be born per woman in their child-bearing years, usually between the ages of 15 and 44 or 49. A fertility rate of 2.1 is needed to maintain the population because of natural deaths, and the global average fertility rate is just below 2.5 children per woman. The rate is higher in developing countries especially in Africa and unbearably lower in Eastern Asian countries, such as Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, each of whose fertility rate has dipped below 1.0 recently.
In Korea’s case, the problem seems to have been worsening as fewer women are getting married these days. Only around 10% of women were unmarried between the ages of 30 and 34 at the beginning of the millennium, but recently the number went up to 37.5%. Career development, job security, economic uncertainty, and education cost are mainly to blame. Indeed, bearing a child is a one-time event but rearing them is nearly a life-long burden as women are getting later and education takes longer and costs higher. A single income may afford a house in a lifetime and another income could rear a child. But that seems as much as an ordinary couple can bear.
Enjoy reading and learn about the challenges South Korea and other neighboring countries are facing.
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