- Petra Zivic
- BBC news reporter
January 24, 2023
image source,Getty Images
China’s population fell for the first time in 60 years and the birth rate hit a record low, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed last week.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also warned that Japan’s low birth rate and aging population were causing an urgent crisis, shortly after China’s official report showed its first negative population growth in 60 years.
“Japan is on the brink of whether we can continue to function as a society,” Kishida said.
With Japan’s birth rate falling to an all-time low, Tokyo officials announced they would double spending on child-related programs to encourage people to have more children. But Japan and China are far from the only countries experiencing these problems – this is how countries are trying to boost birth rates.
Bulgaria: Long maternity leave
Boryana Andreeva Gramatikova, 33, was paid almost every month from her full salary in the 12 months since she gave birth to her son in Bulgaria.
“In the first year of your maternity leave you get 90 per cent of your salary and in the second year you get minimum salary,” he told the BBC.
According to the World Bank, 22% of Bulgaria’s population is over 65, one of the highest in the European Union. To buck the trend, the country is introducing one of the longest fully paid maternity leaves in the world.
image source,Boryana Andreeva Gramatikova
For the 12 months since Boriana gave birth to her son in Bulgaria, she was paid in full almost every month.
According to a UNICEF report on developed countries, only half of the countries give at least six months of fully paid leave to mothers. Estonia offers up to 85 weeks of fully paid maternity leave, while the US has no national paid leave policy.
Boriana told reporters: “Having almost two years of parenting brings a sense of security; you have the opportunity to bond with your child. If you happen to have a sick baby (like I did), you have to be around him giving your situation. be comfortable knowing you can be with him and take care of him and then go back to work.”
But despite this generous policy, Bulgaria is expected to lose 20 percent or more of its population by 2050, according to a United Nations analysis. Despite Bulgaria’s long maternity leave, the country is otherwise unfriendly to parents. “There are many other problems, such as a lack of professional childcare support, low wages, high inflation, high property prices, and a large pay gap between men and women,” Boriana told the BBC.
South Korea: Substantial cash assistance
While Bulgaria is trying to improve the country’s low birth rate by increasing the number of days of maternity leave, in Asia South Korea is trying a different solution – cash handouts.
Starting this year, all South Korean families with a newborn will be eligible for a monthly stipend of about $745.
The reason for the high grant is simple: In two years, one in five South Koreans is expected to be over 65, according to Statistics Korea.
Like many other countries, South Korea has struggled in the past to ensure that its public health and social systems are prepared for an aging population. But South Korea’s problems will get worse when its fertility rate falls to the lowest in the world in 2022.
That is why the government responded by tripling the so-called “baby benefit”. The grant is provided in full for one year, and the amount will be halved when the child turns one year old. This process continues each subsequent year.
Policymakers hope the cash transfer will have a huge impact on the demographic trajectory South Korea is on.
“In just 20 years, South Korea is expected to overtake Japan as the country with the largest elderly population in the world,” Lee Sang-rim, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs, told the BBC’s Korea service last year.
Japan: Robot Nurse
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Robot nurses are designed to provide assistance to people with limited mobility, which is closely related to the problems of old age.
Japan is known for its love of technology, so it’s no surprise that it’s looking to robots for help dealing with the country’s aging population.
According to the World Bank, Japan’s aging workforce is already beginning to drag on the Japanese economy. As well as plans to double the budget for child-related policies, Japan has created new government agencies to tackle with an aging population
In addition, Japan has been investing in robots to help make life easier for people later in life. With an infusion of state funding, Japanese companies have been investing in and designing care robots, including dogs and furry seals, to help caregivers with their jobs.
These robots are carefully designed to remotely monitor users, chat and assist the elderly with mobility.
China: Reverse the “one child” policy.
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Beijing has made raising the fertility rate a priority, but raising it has been more difficult than lowering it.
The Chinese government has offered tax breaks and better maternal health care since 2016, when it abolished the controversial “one child” policy and allowed married couples to have two children. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made raising the fertility rate a priority in November 2022, but raising it has been more difficult than lowering it.
In 2023, the population of China60 will experience negative growth for the first time in the last ten years, with an average of 6.77 newborns born per 1,000 inhabitants.
Xi Jinping promised that his government would “pursue a proactive national strategy” in China to deal with China’s aging population. However, the future does not look bright. According to United Nations estimates, the number of Chinese between the ages of 15 and 64 will decrease by more than 60% in this century.
There are concerns that the aging workforce could have a major impact on China’s economy, and that a slowdown in China would have global repercussions.
Singapore: Lifelong Learning
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Singapore is another of the fastest aging societies in the world.
To help the workforce meet the challenges of an aging population, the government has invested in lifelong learning programmes.
According to the World Bank, some universities offer their industry-relevant courses to alumni for up to 20 years after graduation; others offer alumni credits to offset course fees related to emerging skills.
Singapore also has access to the National Longevity Insurance Annuity Scheme, which provides monthly annuity payments to retired citizens until the end of their lives, mitigating the risk of people depleting their retirement resources.
“No matter how long you live, there’s nothing to worry about,” said the Singapore government.
The scheme is funded through compulsory monthly contributions to a personal account. So, as long as the policyholder is alive, they can receive monthly cash benefits in their old age.
