South Korea recorded its lowest-ever total fertility rate of 0.78 in 2022, according to government data released Wednesday. File Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- South Korea recorded a new low in childbirths in 2022, its statistics agency said Wednesday, adding to concerns over a declining fertility rate that threatens to undercut economic growth and strain pensions and social welfare programs in the future.
A total of 249,000 babies were born in South Korea last year, according to provisional data released by Statistics Korea, marking a decline of 4.4% from 2021. Deaths outpaced births for the third year in a row, increasing by 17.4% to 372,800.
In a press briefing, Lim Young-il, head of the population trends division at Statistics Korea, said that rising death numbers were caused in part by COVID-19 but also reflected South Korea's aging population, which is among the world's oldest.
South Korea's total fertility rate fell from 0.81 in 2021 to 0.78 last year -- meaning that for every 100 women, just 78 babies are expected to be born over their lifetimes.
The figure is the lowest in the world, roughly half the average rate of the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Neighboring Japan, which also has a rapidly aging population, had a fertility rate of 1.33 in 2020, according to the most recent OECD figures, while the United States recorded a rate of 1.64.
A total fertility rate of 2.1 is considered the level needed to keep a population from declining.
The number of marriages in South Korea also fell to 191,697 last year, which Lim said was the lowest since recordkeeping began in 1970.
"The decrease in the number of marriages probably has an impact on the birth rate as well," he said.
"Future projections predict that the total fertility rate will decrease to 0.7 in 2024 and then recover little by little," he added.
The shrinking numbers of births and marriages in South Korea are driven by several factors, including high housing and education costs and a difficult job market for young people. The youth unemployment rate was 5.9% in January, compared to 3.6% overall, but for several years prior it hovered around the 10% range.
Women, in particular, have been increasingly reluctant to start families, as they continue to face gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace while maintaining the lion's share of child care and household responsibilities.
South Korea has the highest gender wage gap in the OECD, while The Economist grades the country last in its "glass ceiling index," which measures the best places to be a working woman.
The South Korean government has tried various schemes to increase the birth rate, including direct cash payments. The administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol announced last year it would raise monthly allowances from $230 to $770 by 2024 for families with babies less than a year old.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called for an all-out effort to combat the "horrible catastrophe" of population decline, including improved child care services and labor market reforms.
Statistics Korea projected last year that the country's population will decline from 52 million in 2022 to 38 million in 2070. The United Nations is forecasting the population will continue to shrink to less than half by 2100.
