Opinion | Why work is the biggest hurdle to solving East Asia’s population crisis
April 28, 2021
Birth rates throughout East Asia have fallen to critically low levels. South Korea’s rate fell to a record in 2020 – just 0.84 children were expected to be born per woman, versus the 2.1 needed for population stability. Korea is not alone; Hong Kong’s birth rate was just 1.05 in 2019 while Singapore’s had 1.1 births per woman in 2020.
In Taiwan, women can expect to have just 1.05 children each. Japan, once the demographic laggard of East Asia, now has one of the highest birth rates in the region, at a mere 1.36 children per woman.
