South Korea’s fertility rate, already the world’s lowest, declined dramatically in 2023, as women concerned about career advancement and the financial cost of raising children decide to delay childbirth or not have babies.
Data from statistics showed that the average number of expected babies for a South korean woman fell to a record low of 0.72 from 0.78 in 2022, .
South korean journalist Yuuna Ku, said politicians are calling the decline a national emergency, prompting political parties to pledge more public housing and easier loans to encourage childbirth, aimed at easing the fears of national extinction.
South korea’s demographic crisis has become the top risk to economic growth and the social welfare system, with the country’s population of 51 million on track to halve by the end of this century.
