China, S. Korea top the list of most costly countries to raise a child amid low birthrates

A new report revealed that China is the second most costly country to raise a child behind South Korea, raising concerns about the country’s flagging birth rate. According to the South China Morning Post, the report that came in the midst of the country’s looming demographic crisis called for more support for the families in the country. The country is facing a demographic crisis, due to the long legacy of the now-abandoned one-child policy. As per the report by the Chinese news outlet, the study that made these revelations was conducted by YuWa Population Research Institute.

The study stated that the cost of raising a child in China was 6.9 times its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. China’s figures were the second highest in the world behind another Asian country, South Korea. In South Korea, the cost of raising a child till 18 is 7.79 times higher than its GDP per capita. The figures are double the cost in countries like Germany, Australia and France. In Germany, it is 3.64 times the GDP per capita. In Australia and France where it is 2.08 and 2.24 times respectively. 

Alarming birthrates

The figures are alarming in South Korea since the country has one of the world’s lowest birth rates. Last year, the average number of babies per South Korean woman fell to less than 1 and recorded a figure of 7.8. The average number of babies among Chinese women also fell to 1.1 last year, SCMP reported. “The high cost of childbearing is one of the most important factors affecting the willingness of families of childbearing age to bear children,” the report stated. “To this end, policies to reduce childbearing costs for families of childbearing age need to be introduced at the national level,” the report further stated. 

Heavy economic burdens on the Chinese population are part of the reason for the declining birthrate. In 2017, a nationwide survey 2017 found that 77.4 percent of women of Childbearing age said “heavy economic burdens" were among the top reasons for not wanting more children. “Specific measures include cash and tax subsidies, house purchase subsidies, building more nurseries, providing gender-equal maternity leave, introducing foreign nannies, promoting flexible working styles, guaranteeing the reproductive rights of single women, allowing assisted reproductive technology and reforming the college entrance examination and school system,” the report concluded.