For several decades now, people in East Asian economies have had fewer<\/a> and fewer children. Last year, South Korea beat<\/a> its own record for having the world\u2019s lowest birth rate, reporting 0.72 births per woman for 2023, down from 0.78 in 2022. Singapore reported 0.97 births per woman, the first time the rate has fallen below one. Japan has one of the world\u2019s oldest populations, with a median<\/a> age of 49.5. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China are all reporting falling birth rates as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n All of these economies have fertility rates far below 2.1, the \u201creplacement rate\u201d which allows for a stable population. They haven\u2019t reported a rate above 2.1 for years, if not decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n A low birth rate leads to a shrinking population, and a smaller workforce to produce the goods and services that lead to economic growth. Slower economic activity results in drops in fiscal revenue, giving fewer resources to a government that now needs to provide welfare for a growing elderly population.\u00a0<\/p>\n Academics often point to the cost of childcare, poor work-life balance, a lack of support for new parents (particularly mothers), and the stresses of modern society as reasons for falling birth rates. \u201cIn all the cosmopolitan cities, the fertility rate tends to be much lower because [people have] a lot of choices. The higher the development, [the] more urbanized, the more education that women get, the smaller the family size,\u201d Paul Cheung, director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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