South Korea made headlines because of its startling low ranking in fertility. At .78 expected lifetime births per woman, South Korea is one of the lowest ranked among more than 260 nations tracked by the World Bank and the absolute lowest among the 38 members of the OECD. It has surpassed typical examples of low fertility like Germany and Japan. The standard for replacement level fertility is 2.1. While South Korea is mirroring similar trends across the developed world, what could be the reasons for its outlier status? Likely factors include economic hardship on the younger generation, increased female labour participation rate, and high urban concentration.
South Korea's Fertility Crisis Explained
South Korea's Fertility Crisis Explained
South Korea's Fertility Crisis Explained
South Korea made headlines because of its startling low ranking in fertility. At .78 expected lifetime births per woman, South Korea is one of the lowest ranked among more than 260 nations tracked by the World Bank and the absolute lowest among the 38 members of the OECD. It has surpassed typical examples of low fertility like Germany and Japan. The standard for replacement level fertility is 2.1. While South Korea is mirroring similar trends across the developed world, what could be the reasons for its outlier status? Likely factors include economic hardship on the younger generation, increased female labour participation rate, and high urban concentration.