The country has the lowest fertility rate in the world. Authorities have already invested more than 180 billion euros, offering a wide range of incentives, without success.
Last May, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol reported that his government was working on the creation of a new ministry to deal with what he called a “national emergency”: the demographic crisis caused by low birth rates. At that time, the president requested the support of Parliament to launch the “ Ministry of Response to Low Birth Rate“.
“We need to take the problem of low birth rates more seriously and look at its causes and possible solutions from a different perspective than usual,” Yoon said during a televised address, according to Yonhap News Agency. Over the years, various South Korean governments have invested More than 180 billion euros in an attempt to increase the birth rateoffering a wide range of incentives, such as monetary subsidies, fertility treatments and childcare services. However, these efforts have failed to stop the steady decline in the birth rateforcing authorities to continue looking for new strategies to solve the problem.
The lowest fertility rate in the world
According to figures provided by the South Korean Statistics Bureau, and reported by CNN, The country has the lowest fertility rate in the world. This indicator, which reflects the average number of children a woman will have throughout her life, reached a value of 0.72 in 2023, compared to 0.78 in the previous yearcontinuing a trend of annual declines. It is worth noting that A rate of 2.1 is necessary for the population to remain stable in the absence of immigration. This situation not only threatens the sustainability of the workforce, but also projects broader economic and social challenges, such as increased dependency among older people and pressure on pension systems and public services.
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More pets than babies
The decline in births is also reflected in the Consumer habits in South KoreaA clear example is that, for the first time, Pet stroller sales surpassed baby stroller sales in 2023according to Gmarket, a major e-commerce platform. The company’s report notes that during the first three quarters of 2023, 57% of strollers sold were for pets, while only 43% were strollers for babiesThis trend has been constant in recent years, according to the company.
Predictive statistics
The South Korean Statistics Bureau predicts that The fertility rate is expected to remain at 0.72 this year and drop to 0.68 in 2024before experiencing a slight recovery. Meanwhile, the number of households with pets continues to rise. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, More than 6 million households in South Korea owned pets in 2022, up from 3.6 million in 2012.
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Source: Ambito
