Survey of 2,000 People in Their 20s to 40s
Desired Number of Children... Unmarried Women Have the Lowest at 1.43
A survey revealed that 96% of the 2040 generation feel burdened by the costs of raising children.
The Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association announced the results of the "1st National Population Behavior Survey" on the 26th to understand the low birthrate issue in our society. This survey was conducted via telephone from October 23 to November 13 last year, targeting 2,000 men and women aged 20 to 44 nationwide (500 married and unmarried men and women each), regarding behaviors related to marriage and childbirth.
Respondents answered positively about personal achievement and marital bonding felt when having children. 92.3% and 83.0% agreed respectively that "Parents grow mentally while raising children" and "Children's growth is the greatest joy in life." Additionally, 82.7% of respondents believed that "Children stabilize the marital relationship."
However, there were many negative responses regarding the costs of raising children and their growth environment. 96% of respondents said "Children require a lot of expenses during their growth period," and 88.8% expressed concern about "the future that children will face." Following this, 77.6% agreed that "Children limit women's careers," and 72.8% agreed that "Children restrict parents' freedom."
The most ideal way to divide parental leave after childbirth was chosen as "Mom and Dad sharing it equally," with unmarried women showing the highest rate at 77.2%. This was followed by unmarried men (64.9%), married women (70.9%), and married men (60.6%).
Regarding who should bear the cost of raising preschool children, "Parents + Government" was the most selected at 30.6%. This was followed by "Parents" (26.7%) and "Government" (22.4%).
The average desired number of children was 1.79 for married men, 1.71 for married women, 1.63 for unmarried men, and 1.43 for unmarried women. The percentage of those hoping to have no children was highest among unmarried women (21.3%), followed by unmarried men (13.7%), married women (6.5%), and married men (5.1%).
The association expressed hope that these research results will be used as basic data for preparing measures to address the low birthrate issue.
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