"Seoul Perceived as Childcare-Friendly" Increases... Intention to Give Birth Rises by 12%P

Birth Support Seoul Project, First Evaluation
16 Out of 19 Performance Indicators Rated 'Excellent'
2 Indicators for Outdoor Environment Improvement Rated 'Insufficient'

It has been found that the number of citizens perceiving Seoul as a 'childcare-friendly city' has increased through the city's low birthrate crisis overcoming policy package. The intention for new or additional childbirth also rose by about 12 percentage points within a year.

Seoul City conducted the 'Childcare Happiness City Policy Performance Evaluation' to verify the outcomes of the low birthrate policies under the 'Birth Support Seoul Project' and disclosed the first evaluation results on the 16th. The achievement levels of the annual representative projects' goals were checked, and a 'Seoul Caregiver Survey' was conducted with 1,610 Seoul citizens, reflecting the results in the performance indicators.

Seoul Caregiver Survey Results. Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government

In the Caregiver Survey, Seoul's childcare-friendliness score was 3.56 out of 5, higher than the 3.30 score before the start of the Birth Support Seoul Project in 2022. Particularly, when divided into two groups?Seoul citizens overall and Seoul caregivers?until 2022, the actual caregivers' scores were lower than the overall citizens' scores, but after the policy was implemented, caregivers' scores surpassed those of the citizens.

The intention to give birth was 68.5% among childless couples and 30.3% among couples with children. These figures are higher compared to 56.5% and 27.3% respectively in 2023. The more the policy was experienced, the higher the childbirth intention became. Last year, among childless couples, those without policy experience showed a 65.7% childbirth intention, whereas those with policy experience showed a 90.9% intention.

Including the survey, the evaluation results of detailed projects carried out in 2023 showed that 16 out of 19 performance indicators, such as the 'supplementary usage rate of childcare services,' were excellent. However, in the creation of a childcare-friendly outdoor environment, the fulfillment rate of childcare-friendly facilities was only 18.1%, receiving a poor evaluation. The grades for childcare-friendly facilities such as Mom and Dad VIP zones and family restrooms were also rated as insufficient.

Analyzing the effects by project, five projects?▲Seoul-type Childcare Allowance ▲Emergency Childcare Support for Infants and Toddlers ▲Seoul Mom and Dad Taxi Operation ▲Childcare Center Dinner Support ▲Seoul-type Household Service?were confirmed to have high effectiveness in both policy target and expert evaluations.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Office, said, "Based on this performance evaluation, we will do our best to steadily promote Birth Support Seoul Project Season 2 to make Seoul a city where it is good to have and raise children."