South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced plans to establish a new ministry aimed at addressing the country’s critically low birth rate, which currently ranks as the world’s lowest, posing a potential demographic crisis. In a live national address, he sought parliamentary cooperation to reorganize the government and create the “ministry of low birth rate counter planning.”
Official data from last year indicates that South Korea’s birth rate plummeted to a historically low level, despite the nation’s substantial investments in initiatives to boost birth rates and ensure population stability. South Korea boasts one of the world’s longest life expectancies but suffers from one of the lowest birth rates, presenting a significant demographic challenge.
The country’s fertility rate, representing the average number of children expected to be born to a woman during her lifetime, dropped to 0.72 in 2023, marking an almost eight percent decline from the previous year. This figure is well below the 2.1 children per woman needed to maintain the current population of 51 million. Experts predict that, at this rate, the population could nearly halve by the year 2100.
South Korea currently holds the lowest birth rate of 0.72 among OECD nations, with the highest average age for childbirth at 33.6 within the OECD. The government has implemented various measures, including cash subsidies, childcare services, and support for infertility treatment, to encourage higher birth rates. However, these efforts have not reversed the consistent decline in birth rates over time.
Yoon’s announcement regarding the birth rate ministry comes ahead of his first press conference in nearly two years, following his party’s significant defeat in last month’s general elections.