South Korea offers marriage incentives as birth ra...

South Korea offers marriage incentives as birth rate hits record low

Oscar J Jeke

Zim Now Reporter

South Korea has recently introduced an incentive system of up to US$38 000 to young couples, as the country moves to improve their fertility rate which plummeted to a record straight decrease of 0.72 children per woman.

The development comes as the Asian country has sought to solve a demographic crisis that has become burdensome to economic growth and the social welfare system of the country, leading to fears of losing half of its 51 million population by the turn of the century.

The new incentives come also at a time where the ruling government has sought to fulfill one of its election promises that was centered at availing more public housing and easy access to loans so as to encourage child birth among young people.

At the prevailing rate which saw another successive decrease from previous years, with the recorded figures falling far below the expected rate of 2.1 per woman needed for a steady population, putting the country at risk of reaching national extinction as the fertility rates continue to crumble.

The Asian country’s capital, Seoul has the lowest rate of 0.55 in 2023, with analysts noting that it also has the highest cost of living rates hence the decline.

Neighbours, Japan have similar worrying trends in experiencing a downfall in the number of babies for eight straight years hitting 1.26 in 2022, while China had 1.09.

This trend in Asian countries contrasts that of African countries who have faced threats of malnutrition and high birth rates especially among young people and teenagers, with Niger leading the statistics having a rate percentage of 6.6, followed by Chad, DRC and Somalia with 6.0.