Various measures designed to encourage people to have more children have had limited success
The number of kindergartens in China fell by more than 5% last year, the second year in a row that preschool institutions were in decline, reflecting the country’s falling birthrate.
In 2023, there were 274,400 kindergartens across China, down from 289,200 in 2022, according to a Ministry of Education statistical bulletin published last week.
Continue reading...People could face fines of up to 400,000 rubles, as data suggests birthrate has slid to lowest level in quarter of a century
A law that would ban “propaganda” seeking to champion a childfree lifestyle has cleared its first hurdle in Russia’s lower house of parliament, gaining unanimous approval among lawmakers for a bill promoted as a means to increase the country’s birthrate.
The new legislation sets out fines for those deemed to be discouraging people from having children, as official data released last month suggested Russia’s birthrate had slid to its lowest level in a quarter of a century, a slump exacerbated by the country’s ageing population and Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Continue reading...ABS data shows the jump from 26 to 27 million people by March 2024 took just one-and-three-quarter years, ‘far quicker than the average’
There are now more than 27 million people calling Australia home – a quick jump of 1 million people in less than two years thanks to post-pandemic overseas migration.
The national population grew by 2.3% to 27.1 million in the year ending 31 March, according to new data released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
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Continue reading...Youthful, growing cities expected to create wealth and opportunities but stretch public and utility services
Six African cities will have more than 10 million people by 2035, with the continent’s booming young population making it the world’s fastest urbanising region, according to a report.
Angola’s capital, Luanda, and Tanzania’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, will join the metropolises of Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos and Greater Johannesburg with populations of more than 10 million, the Economist Intelligence Unit said in a report on African cities.
Continue reading...Sydney has biggest drop in births as economist says couples delaying children because of cost-of-living crisis
Australia is in the grips of a “baby recession”, which some have attributed to rising cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
The number of births in Australia dropped to 289,100 in 2023, the lowest recorded since 2006, analysis from KPMG Australia showed.
Continue reading...Consultation launched as surveys show people have little chance to meet partners and worry about high cost of living
The Japanese government has begun to consult young people about their interest in marriage – or lack thereof – as Japan continues to struggle with a demographic crisis that is expected to result in a sharp population decline over the next decades.
The Children and Families Agency, launched in April 2023, held its first working group meeting on Friday to support young people in their efforts to find partners through dating, matchmaking and other means. Attenders included those considering marriage in the future and experts versed in the challenges facing younger people.
Continue reading...Sharp rise, equivalent to population of London, means nearly 120 million have been driven from their homes
The number of people forced out of their homes around the world last year was the equivalent of the population of London, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
The latest annual assessment from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) said a sharp rise in the number of people forcibly displaced during 2023 had brought the total to a record high of more than 117 million. Conflicts were largely to blame with many, such as those in Ukraine and Sudan, showing little sign of ending.
Continue reading...Critics label as ‘absurd’ idea from government-backed thinktank as country seeks to address population decline
A government thinktank in South Korea has sparked anger after suggesting that girls start primary school a year earlier than boys because the measure could raise the country’s low birthrate.
A report by analysts at the Korea Institute of Public Finance said creating a one-year age gap between girls and boys at school would make them more attractive to each other by the time they reached marriageable age.
Continue reading...The Indian-born population grew the most, rising by more than 90,000 people to take the diaspora to almost 846,000 in total at June 2023
The share of Australians born overseas has surpassed 30% for the first time since 1893, after record migration in the year to June 2023 pushed the figure out of its Covid-induced plateau.
Australia drew in an additional 500,000 foreign-born residents, taking the total to 8.2 million out of the 26.6 million in the country in June, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics latest data, released on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Sato will become the only option by 2531, suggests modelling as part of campaign to overturn outdated law requiring spouses to have same surname
Japanese citizens will all have the same family name in 500 years’ time unless married couples are permitted to use separate surnames, a new study has suggested as part of a campaign to update a civil code dating back to the late 1800s.
The study, led by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economy at Tohoku University, projected that if Japan continues to insist that couples select a single surname, every single Japanese person will be known as “Sato-san” by 2531.
Continue reading...Average number of births per woman falls to 0.72 in country that already has the world’s lowest rate, and has spent billions since 2006 to reverse the trend
South Korea’s demographic crisis has deepened with the release of data showing its birthrate – already the world’s lowest – fell to a new record low in 2023, despite billions of dollars in government schemes designed to persuade families to have more children.
Reports that South Korea’s population had shrunk for the fourth straight year came soon after neighbouring Japan reported a record decline in its population last year, along with a record fall in the number of births and the lowest number of marriages since the end of the second world war.
Continue reading...Expense and challenge of balancing work and family life key factors in declining birthrate and shrinking population
China is one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child, outstripping the US and Japan in relative terms, a prominent Chinese thinktank has said.
A report released on Wednesday by the Beijing-based YuWa Population Research Institute found that the average cost of raising a child in China until the age of 18 is 538,000 yuan (£59,275) – more than 6.3 times as high as its GDP per capita, compared with 4.11 times in the US or 4.26 times in Japan.
Continue reading...Rise of almost 10% over 15 years would see 70m mark passed by 2026, a decade earlier than previously projected
The UK population is projected to grow to 73.7 million by mid-2036, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics, which predicts hitting the 70 million mark a decade earlier than previously thought.
This represents an increase of about 6.6 million, or 9.9%, from the estimated 67 million in mid-2021.
Continue reading...Poll comes as Beijing is urgently trying an array of measures to lift the country’s birth rate including financial incentives
China’s National Bureau of Statistics will conduct a nationwide sample survey in November to help better plan population policies, as authorities struggle to boost the country’s flagging birthrate.
Concerned about China’s first population drop in six decades and its rapid ageing, Beijing is urgently trying an array of measures to lift the country’s birthrate including financial incentives and boosting childcare facilities.
Continue reading...Recent shutdown of obstetrics units not officially linked with falling birth rate – but online commentators speculate
A number of hospital obstetrics units in China have closed, prompting discussion about the effects of China’s dramatically falling birthrate.
Several hospitals in Zhejiang province have reportedly closed or downsized their obstetrics units, along with hospitals in Jiangsu and Guangdong.
Continue reading...China’s eastern county of Changshan has made the offer in an effort to promote ‘age-appropriate marriage and childbearing’
A county in eastern China is offering couples a “reward” of 1,000 yuan ($137) if the bride is aged 25 or younger, the latest in a series of measures to incentivise young people to get married amid rising concern over a declining national birthrate.
The notice, which was published on Changshan county’s official WeChat account last week, said the reward was to promote “age-appropriate marriage and childbearing” for first marriages. It also included a series of childcare, fertility and education subsidies for couples who have children.
Continue reading...Australians are expected to live longer and remain healthier to an older age, while having fewer children over the next 40 years
Australia’s population is forecast to grow at its slowest rate since federation, the latest intergenerational report from Treasury has found.
The report, which forecasts what the next four decades will look like, has found population growth is projected to slow to an annual average of 1.1% over the next 40 years, compared to 1.4% over the past four decades.
Continue reading...Figure fell from 1.15 in 2021 to 1.09, the lowest of any country with a population over 100 million
China’s fertility rate dropped to an estimated record low of 1.09 in 2022, the lowest of any country with a population over 100 million, according to government data.
Demographers from the China Population and Development Research Centre, a Chinese government research institution, released data indicating that last year’s fertility rate fell to 1.09 from 1.15 in 2021, below Japan’s rate for the same time period and only slightly higher than South Korea’s, which was estimated to be 0.8.
Continue reading...In 2023, an average of 16,000 babies have been born a month, compared to as many as 23,000 babies born monthly before Russia’s invasion
Ukraine’s birthrate has fallen by 28% since the start of the war, according to new data, with 38,324 fewer babies born in the country in the first six months of this year compared with 2021, before Russia invaded.
While birthrates have been declining by 7% per yer since 2015, according to Ukrainian data analytics company OpenDataBot, the drop from 2021 to 2023 is the largest since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. The next steepest drop was in 2015, in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Continue reading...Changing demographics are affecting nearly every part of society, while efforts to turn around the decline have so far had little impact
Every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures posted a population drop in 2022, while the total number of Japanese people fell by more than 800,000. The figures released by the Japan’s internal affairs ministry mark two new unwelcome records for a nation sailing into uncharted demographic territory, but on a course many other countries are set to follow.
Japan’s prime minister has called the trend a crisis and vowed to tackle the situation. But national policies have so far failed to dent population decline, though concerted efforts by a sprinkling of small towns have had some effect.
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