"Korea Ranks 1st Worldwide in Childcare Costs Relative to Per Capita Income... China Ranks 2nd"

Report from Chinese Population Policy Research Institute
"Support Needed Such as Subsidies and Tax Benefits"

A report from a Chinese research institute revealed that "South Korea is the country with the highest child-rearing cost relative to per capita income in the world, followed by China."

According to the US CNN broadcast on the 22nd, the Beijing Population and Public Policy Research Institute, Yiwei Population Research Institute, stated in its recently released 2024 edition of the "China Child-Rearing Cost Report" that "the cost of raising one child until the age of 18 in China reached $74,800 (approximately 100 million KRW), which is 6.3 times the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."

South Korea had the highest child-rearing cost relative to per capita GDP at 7.79 times until the child reaches 18 years old. Following South Korea and China, Italy ranked third (6.28 times), the United Kingdom fourth (5.25 times), and New Zealand fifth (4.55 times). Japan (4.26 times), the United States (4.11 times), and Germany (3.64 times) also had relatively high child-rearing costs.

On the other hand, Singapore (2.1 times), Australia (2.08 times), and France (2.24 times) were found to have relatively lower child-rearing costs compared to income.

Photo by Pixabay

The institute also expressed concern over China's declining birthrate and urged policy support. The researchers pointed out in the report that "due to high childbirth costs and the difficulty for women to balance family and work, the willingness to have children among Chinese people is among the lowest in the world," adding that "it is not an exaggeration to call the current population situation a collapse of the birth population."

They further stated, "National policies are needed to reduce childbirth and child-rearing costs as soon as possible," and emphasized the need for "cash support including housing subsidies and tax benefits, expansion of maternity and parental leave opportunities, protection of health rights for unmarried women, and educational reform."

In fact, the number of newborns in China fell below 10 million for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. This is the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that the number of newborns dropped below 10 million. As of the end of last year, China's total population was recorded at 1.40967 billion, a decrease of 2.08 million compared to 2022, resulting in India overtaking China as the most populous country in the world.