"The Countries with the Highest Child Support Costs Until Age 18 Are Korea and China"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] An analysis has revealed that South Korea, along with China, is among the countries with the highest child-rearing costs in the world.

On the 10th (Korean time), the US-based investment bank Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) reported this based on an analysis using data from Beijing's Yuwa Population Research Institute, as covered by the US CNN network.

According to the report, South Korea ranked highest in the proportion of the cost to raise a child until the age of 18 relative to per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). China was second, followed by Italy.

In South Korea, the cost of raising a child until 18 years old was 7.79 times the per capita GDP as of 2013. South Korea's total fertility rate (the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime) was 0.84 in 2020, the lowest worldwide.

In China, the average cost of raising a child until 18 was calculated at 485,000 yuan (approximately 94.1 million won). This corresponds to about 6.9 times the per capita GDP as of 2019.

However, while the proportion of child-rearing costs relative to average disposable income in China was higher than any other country, in terms of absolute amount, China was classified as the country with the lowest child-rearing expenses.

JEF cited education expenses, childcare costs, and the availability of childcare services as reasons for the high child-rearing burden in South Korea and China. For example, in China, it costs about $75,000 to raise a child until 18, and an additional $22,000 is needed to graduate from university. Although university tuition fees are lower than in the US, which is known for expensive tuition, JEF's analysis points out that in Western countries like the US, the burden is shifted to students through student loans, whereas in China, parents bear this cost.