Birth Rate

China has announced a slew of policies, including a childbirth subsidy system and tax cuts for parents, aimed at motivating couples to have more children to halt the falling birth-rates in order to deal with the looming demographic crisis. A directive issued by the State Council or the central cabinet on Monday outlined 13 targeted measures designed to enhance childbirth support services; expand childcare systems; strengthen support in education, housing and employment, and cultivate a birth-friendly social atmosphere. The falling birth rates resulted in China losing the most populous nation in the world to India last year. The latest initiative also includes improvements to the childbirth subsidy system and personal income tax relief related to childbirth, official media reported. Key provisions include extending the maternity insurance scheme to individuals in flexible employment and rural migrant workers who have already participated in the basic medical insurance scheme. This

The statements have come after southern states have reported a total fertility rate (TFR) below the replacement level

Statistics from Rosstat indicate that Russia saw 599,600 births during the first half of 2024, a decrease of 16,000 from the same period in 2023, representing the lowest number since 1999

Delhi saw a decline in birth rate after the COVID-19 pandemic as it reduced from 18.35 per 1000 population to 14.85 in 2020, according to the latest report of the government. The 'Annual Report on Registration of Births and Deaths in Delhi-2023' also said that out of 13,919 non-institutional births, 7,216 (51.84 per cent) were females. Out of 3,01,168 institutional births, 1,94,428 (64.56 per cent) births occurred in government hospitals. Out of the total institutional births, 1,43,891 (47.78 per cent) were females, according to the report. The report said one of the important indicators that emerge out of Civil Registration System is birth rate which, during the period between 2005 to 2019, is hovering between 18-22 per 1000 population. However, after Covid-19, the birth rate ranges between 13-15 per 1000 population from 2020-2023. The report, however, did not cite the reason for the decline in figures. In 2019, the birth rate stood at 18.35 per 1000 population while it declined

A stable population demands a fertility rate of 2.1. Yet, Japan has struggled to meet this benchmark for over five decades, a trend exacerbated by the 1973 oil crisis

Japan's fertility rate, the total number of births per woman in her lifetime, dropped from 1.26 to 1.20, far below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was passed in both Houses of Parliament during the Monsoon Session, has received the President's assent. The law will allow the use of a birth certificate as a single document for admission to an education institute, issuance of a driving licence, preparation of a voter list, Aadhaar number, registration of marriage or appointment to a government job. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, President Droupadi Murmu has given assent to the legislation. The law will help create a national and state-level database of registered births and deaths which eventually would ensure efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits, and digital registration. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha that the original Act had not been amended since its inception and to keep pace with the societal change and technological advancements during the perio

Singapore's birth rate hit a record low in 2022 with only 35,605 babies born in that year when the country also registered the highest number of deaths annually since 1960, according to media reports on Tuesday. Official figures released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) showed a 7.9 per cent drop in the number of live births. The drop was from 38,672 in 2021 to 35,605 in 2022. There were 26,891 deaths in 2022, a 10.7 per cent increase compared with the 24,292 recorded in 2021 in the Report on Registration of Births and Deaths. This was the highest number of total yearly deaths since 1960, reported Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao. The report also stated that women are progressively getting older before they start having children, with the median age of first-time mothers rising to 31.9 years in 2022 from 30.6 in 2018. There was minimal change in the median ages of mothers who gave birth to their second and subsequent children during the same period. The numb

Japan's demographic problems have been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, as fewer marriages in recent years have led to fewer births

Statistics Finland said the main reason for the drop was that families chose not to have a second or third child

It stated that until parents' children graduate from high school, the government would abolish income limits and continue to pay benefits to the parents

China dug itself into a demographic hole largely through its one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015

The population has fallen to 124.6 million from a peak of just over 128 million reached in 2008, and the pace of decline is increasing

Over one-third of women reported financial loss, and more than 20 per cent described losing opportunities for training or promotions

The number of babies born in Japan this year is below last year's record low in what the the top government spokesman described as a critical situation. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno promised comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and births. The total of 599,636 Japanese born in January-September was 4.9% below last year's figure, suggesting the number of births in all of 2022 might fall below last year's record low of 811,000 babies, he said. Japan is the world's third biggest economy but living costs are high and wage increases have been slow. The conservative government has lagged on making society more inclusive for children, women and minorities. So far, the government's efforts to encourage people to have more babies have had limited impact despite payments of subsidies for pregnancy, childbirth and child care. The pace is even slower than last year ... I understand that it is a critical situation, Matsuno said. Many younger Japanese have balked at

Yoo Young Yi's grandmother gave birth to six children. Her mother birthed two. Yoo doesn't want any. My husband and I like babies so much but there are things that we'd have to sacrifice if we raised kids, said Yoo, a 30-year-old Seoul financial company employee. So it's become a matter of choice between two things, and we've agreed to focus more on ourselves. There are many like Yoo in South Korea who have chosen either not to have children or not to marry. Other advanced countries have similar trends, but South Korea's demographic crisis is much worse. South Korea's statistics agency announced in September that the total fertility rate the average number of babies born to each woman in their reproductive years was 0.81 last year. That's the world's lowest for the third consecutive year. The population shrank for the first time in 2021, stoking worry that a declining population could severely damage the economy the world's 10th largest because of labour shortages and greater

In 2021, 742,100 babies were born in France, which means that there were 2,033 births per day, a soike after six years of decline

Pope Francis traveled to southern Italy on Sunday to close out an Italian church congress that coincided with Italy's national election, and delivered a message that hit on key domestic campaign issues including immigration. Neither Francis nor his hosts referred to the vote during the open-air Mass, though Italy's bishops conference had earlier urged Italians to cast ballots in the eagerly watched election that could bring Italy its first far-right government since World War II. At the end of the outdoor Mass in Matera, Francis spoke off the cuff asking Italians to have more children. I'd like to ask Italy: More births, more children, Francis said. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and Francis has frequently lamented its demographic winter. Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who campaigned on a God, family and homeland mantra, has also called for Italy to reverse its demographic trends by proposing bigger financial incentives for couples to have children. Francis

This is not the first time that Tesla's top boss has warned about declining birth rates. In June 2022, he also shared data from The Wall Street Journal

Life expectancy in China has increased by over 0.6 of a year to 77.93 years even as the world's second-largest economy grappled with a demographic crisis due to declining birth rates