South Korea birth rate decline

South Korea is struggling with a record low birth rate, with officials having trouble convincing the “YOLO” generation that parenthood is a better investment than a hedonistic lifestyle


TOTAL FERTILITY RATE
(babies per woman during her reproductive lifespan)

4.5 	1970 4.53
4.0 
3.5 
3.0 
2.5 
2.0 
1.5 
1.0
0.5		2023 0.72
0
	1970	2025


LIVE BIRTHS AND DEATHS COMPARED 
(millions)

1.2 

1.0 	1970 1.01

0.8		
		Births
0.6

0.4 			2023 0.35
		Deaths
0.2	1970 0.26	

  0 			2023  0.23
	1970			2025	
  	

YOLO (You Only Live Once) – Term applied to people aged 20-30 who live for self-satisfaction, spending their money on fashionable clothes, eating out and travel. They spend more and save less on average than wider South Korean population or their peers in other countries – overlooking notions of marriage or starting family


Sources: Reuters, Statistics Korea 
Illustration source: Unsplash 
© GRAPHIC NEWS