North and South Korea are facing declining birth rates and looming population decline, but they have adopted different approaches to address the issue. While North Korea has a fertility rate of 1.78 births per woman, South Korea’s rate stands at 0.72, the lowest in the world. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on women to raise children to “carry forward our revolution,” while South Korea has allocated $300 billion over the last 18 years to initiatives aimed at increasing fertility. Despite these efforts, South Korea continues to struggle to boost its birth rate.
North Korea does not regularly publish official fertility rate figures, so analysts must rely on estimates based on past official records, censuses, and surveys. Data from household births, age-specific fertility rates, and surveys from the 1993-2014 period suggest a declining fertility trend since around 2008. Reports have surfaced of authorities punishing doctors for performing secret abortions and cracking down on merchants selling contraceptives. International sanctions have limited North Korea’s ability to offset a dwindling workforce through automation, as the country relies more on physical labor.
South Korea is implementing various strategies to address its declining birth rate, including allocating significant funds to increase fertility. President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government is establishing a new ministry to address key demographic concerns such as aging, immigration, and housing. Initiatives like matchmaking events with monetary rewards for couples and policies to reduce commute times and improve work-life balance have been put in place. However, young South Koreans, especially in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, face financial obstacles to starting families, and shifting cultural norms that prioritize careers and personal freedoms over traditional family life have contributed to the declining birth rates.
Both North and South Korea are grappling with shifting demographics and the challenges posed by falling birth rates. North Korea, with a population of 26 million, faces pressure to increase its fertility rate to sustain its population, as it is higher than that of countries like Russia, Japan, and China. However, the country’s reliance on physical labor and limited access to advanced machinery pose challenges in offsetting a dwindling workforce. South Korea’s efforts to boost its birth rate have so far shown limited success, with financial obstacles and changing cultural norms contributing to the declining marriage and birth rates.
While North Korea has cracked down on secret abortions and contraception as part of its efforts to boost its fertility rate, South Korea has allocated significant funds and implemented various initiatives to address its declining birth rate. The differing approaches reflect the unique challenges faced by each country in confronting their falling birth rates and looming population decline. Despite their efforts, both North and South Korea are struggling to reverse the trend, as factors such as economic conditions, cultural norms, and government policies continue to shape their population dynamics.
