South Korea has the world's lowest fertility rate, a struggle with lessons for us all. A woman holding her daughter looks at a view of Seoul in 2019. The fertility rate in South Korea, which has the world's lowest rate, hit 0.78 in February.
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In 2022, that figure was 0.78. South Korea is the only country in the world to register a fertility rate of less than one child per woman, although others – Ukraine, China and Spain – are close.
Causes of low fertility
South Korea is facing a decline in childbirth because many young people are distancing themselves from marriage and having children due to the lack of decent job opportunities, high home prices, and heavy private education fees.
In 2023, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.09 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country.
In 2023, the fertility rate in Niger was estimated to be 6.73 children per woman. With a fertility rate of almost 7 children per woman, Niger is the country with the highest fertility rate in the world followed by Mali. The total population of Niger is growing at a fast pace.
In the United States, the highest fertility rates (per 1,000 women ages 15-44) during 2018-2020 (average) were to Hispanic women (64.8), followed by blacks (62.6), American Indian/Alaska Natives (60.8), Asian/Pacific Islanders (55.6) and Whites (55.3).
The most fertile soils on Earth are the so-called black soils or chernozems. These are found in some areas in North America, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia. It took several millennia and a specific climate and steppe vegetation for them to form.
In its public pronouncements, Pyongyang has called for accelerated population growth and encouraged large families. According to one Korean American scholar who visited North Korea in the early 1980s, the country has no birth control policies; parents are encouraged to have as many as six children.
The number of babies expected per woman in South Korea dropped to 0.78 last year, down from 0.81 a year earlier. South Korea has smashed its own record for the world's lowest fertility rate again, according to official data.
According to the report, the reasons for these trends are many: Better access to contraception, more women seeking higher education, more women entering and staying in the workforce, changing family values, "relationship instability," and concerns over personal finances and the high cost of childrearing.
Many younger Japanese have balked at marrying or having families, discouraged by bleak job prospects, corporate cultures that are incompatible with both parents — but especially women — working, and a lack of public tolerance for small children. Many couples also hesitate to have children due to rising costs.
As of 2022, women in Korea receive a payment of 2 million won ($1,510) after giving birth. The Yoon government made the decision to provide children under the age of one 700,000 won ($528) and those under the age of two 350,000 won ($264) a month in 2023.
China's infamous one-child policy limited births for decades
Ultimately it resulted in low fertility rates and a large aging population. Last year, China saw more deaths than births, according to government data publicized this week. Officials said 10.41 million people died while 9.56 million were born.
Worldwide, fertility has fallen from an average of 5 births per woman in 1950 to 2.3 births per woman in 2021, an indication of the increasing control that individuals – particularly women – are able to exercise over their reproductive lives. Overall fertility is projected to fall to 2.1 births per woman by 2050.
After peaking in 2008, Japan's population has since shrunk steadily due to a declining birthrate. The country saw a record low of 771,801 births last year.
Why are birth rates so high in five African countries? The major factors driving population growth in these countries include low contraceptive use, high adolescent fertility rates and a prevalence of polygamous marriages.
"We think that couples' fears of a health and social crisis at the time of the first wave of Covid-19 contributed to the decrease in live births nine months later,” he said. In March 2021, births had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but it did not account for the decline two months before.
According to Statistics Finland, this decline is due to families opting not to have a second or third child. Finnish researchers say the declining fertility rate is related to cultural and social changes leading to higher standards for starting a family.
The formulas are: if your birthday has passed: Korean age = your age + 1. if your birthday has not passed: Korean age = your age + 2.
If a baby is born, it must be registered within 30 days after the birth in Korea. If the parents are foreigners, and the baby is born in Korea, you must get the visa 90 days after the birth. Or you will have to pay the fine. We will share the administrative process after giving birth.
Nearly a quarter of the world's most fertile soil, known as Chernozem, is located in Ukraine. Chernozem is black soil rich in organic matter called 'humus,' which is made up of decomposed plants. More than 65 percent of arable land in Ukraine is composed of Chernozem deposits, making it ideal for farming.
Iowa has some of the most fertile soils in the world. this “black gold” is found in northeast Iowa's gently rolling terrain, molded by climate, water and plant life.
Chernozem is the rich black soil that makes Ukraine one of the most fertile places on Earth. It's a soil that was formed from very fine mineral particles that prehistoric winds carried away from ancient glacial beds. “The wind acted as a huge filter,” says Dr. Léon Hardy, a Canadian geomorphologist in Ukraine.