00:00So, it turns out that so-called rich countries are facing a big problem.
00:05People are not having kids.
00:07Not enough, at least.
00:08On average, women need to have two children to keep things balanced, but they're only
00:13having one, or none at all.
00:16This issue comes down to the fertility rate, or simply the average number of kids a woman
00:20is expected to have in her lifetime.
00:23When that number's too low, it means more people are passing away in these countries
00:27than being born.
00:28And that can destroy the economy.
00:31Think of a rich country – the US, Germany, Japan.
00:35Great, pick any wealthy nation you like, and I can promise you one thing – its fertility
00:40rate is below 2.1.
00:43And that's a problem.
00:44Here's why.
00:45Meet Mary and John.
00:47And over here we've got Jack and Lucy.
00:49That's 4 people total.
00:51Now both couples get married.
00:52Mary and John have two kids, but Jack and Lucy only have one.
00:57Now what does that mean?
00:59Simple math – we're down by one person.
01:02And if this keeps happening, generation after generation, the population starts to shrink.
01:08The situation gets pretty scary when we zoom in on certain countries.
01:12Take Spain, Italy, or Poland.
01:14These countries have some of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union, with women there
01:19having on average just one kid.
01:23But that's a big problem, because it drags down entire economies.
01:27Picture a triangle – young people and workers at the bottom, and the elderly at the top.
01:32In many rich countries, that bottom part is shrinking fast, with fewer babies being born
01:37each year.
01:38So it's like this triangle is flipping upside down.
01:41Fewer young folks and workers, but more and more older people.
01:45With fewer workers and more retirees, the economy struggles to stay balanced.
01:51It's like the domino effect – fewer people working means fewer people paying taxes.
01:56Meanwhile, the older population at the top keeps growing.
01:59And now we have a way bigger group depending on pensions and stuff like Social Security.
02:04So we're left asking, who's gonna pay for all these retirements?
02:10Some countries are in hotter water than others, and South Korea is really feeling the heat.
02:15They've got more and more people getting older, while fewer and fewer babies are being
02:19born.
02:20In fact, they've got the lowest fertility rate in the world.
02:23In 2023, it hit rock bottom – 0.72 births per woman.
02:29Now personally, I don't know how you can have three-quarters of a kid, but hey, that's
02:34statistics for you.
02:35Meanwhile, if things keep going like this, Korea's population could shrink by half
02:40by 2100.
02:43Over the last 20 years, their authorities have invested in the equivalent of $286 billion
02:49in this issue, and they've rolled out a bunch of incentives to turn things around.
02:54First up, pocket money.
02:56If a married couple in Korea decides to have their first kid, the government hands over
03:00about $10,000 split into monthly payments to help out.
03:05While that might sound impressive, it's only about 3 times the average monthly wage.
03:10And in Seoul, one of the most expensive cities in the world, that doesn't go very far.
03:15Next, a home.
03:18Paying rent in Seoul is insane, but the government doesn't want people to leave the capital
03:22because of it.
03:23So, they're stepping in.
03:25Recently, they've promised to give families around $300 a month to help with housing,
03:30until the kid turns 2.
03:32Then again, $300 seems great, but it only covers about 11% of the rent for a 3-bedroom
03:38apartment in the city center.
03:41And last but not least, health care.
03:44Hospital bills are covered, but the couple must be married, on paper and everything.
03:50South Korea came up with all this to fix the problem.
03:53Otherwise, their population might get older, poorer, and more dependent on others for care.
03:58But when you think about it, all these incentives really come down to one thing – giving out
04:03cash.
04:05Even so, their demographic problem hasn't gotten any better, so the authorities had
04:10to come up with more creative solutions, like offering jobs with flexible hours for parents
04:15with kids under 5.
04:17And they can borrow things like toys or strollers from the government, totally for free.
04:22So why don't women want to become mothers?
04:24There's a bunch of reasons.
04:26But one of the most important is work.
04:29Women are getting more education and grabbing more opportunities in the job market than
04:33ever before.
04:34A lot of jobs have crazy hours, with people working late every single day.
04:39So many women get stuck in that cycle – waking up early, going to work, coming home late,
04:45and sleeping.
04:46Then, it all starts over the next day.
04:49They don't have time to meet a partner, and even less time to raise someone.
04:54In fact, education in general is one of the biggest reasons why birth rates are dropping.
05:00Spending so many years in school, then in college, means women are pushing back the
05:04age they have their first kid.
05:06Once they finish their education, they often want to focus on work and building their careers
05:11before starting a family.
05:13So they're not becoming moms in their teens or early 20s anymore.
05:18And by the time they hit 30, things aren't much better.
05:21Sure, they might finally land a stable job, but most employment policies still don't
05:26offer enough support for childcare.
05:29But it's not only education.
05:31Younger generations are getting delayed in, well, everything.
05:34I mean, it's way harder for them to tick off all the adulting boxes, like having a
05:40well-paying job or buying a nice house.
05:43And these things are usually a big part of whether people decide to start a family or
05:47not.
05:49Another reason people aren't having kids – putting a new human into this world is
05:53expensive and time-consuming.
05:56The average childcare costs in Australia, for example, have gone up faster than inflation.
06:01School tuition, even for public schools, takes a big chunk out of parents' budgets.
06:06Think about it – computers, uniforms, field trips, extracurricular activities – all
06:11that adds up to the cost of financing someone's education.
06:15Over 13 years, parents spend over $80,000 on public education.
06:20But if we're talking about private schools, that number jumps up to almost $350,000.
06:27And don't worry – these costs are just for one kid.
06:30Now imagine having two or three!
06:33So what is the solution?
06:35Well, there are two ways to tackle the problem that don't involve pushing the population
06:40to have more kids.
06:42Nations can keep their population healthier and employed longer, like what Singapore is
06:47doing.
06:48They're putting a lot of effort into raising the retirement age, offering mid-life training,
06:53and encouraging companies to hire older workers, like those over 69.
06:58Another way is to encourage people from other countries to come in, especially young ones
07:02who are ready to work.
07:04That's, for example, the strategy Canada uses.
07:07Now, if the goal is really to get women to have more kids, a lot of countries use the
07:12Baby Bonus Strategy, basically giving money and benefits to families, just like South
07:18Korea does.
07:19The problem is that some experts say it is pretty ineffective, as financial incentives
07:24don't address the complexity of the issue.
07:28For them, what these wealthy countries need to do is offer better career and housing opportunities
07:33for young people.
07:35Like giving incentives for companies to offer more flexible hours or work-from-home options
07:39for young parents.
07:42They also need to push strategies to lower the cost of housing, especially in big cities.
07:47Plus, they need to focus more on the aging population, using technological innovations
07:52to support them.
07:54That would help not just parents, but families as a whole.
07:58So what do you think?
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