Table of Contents
Decreasing birth rates in Asia’s major economies is a big concern. Governments in the region are spending billions of dollars to try to change the situation.
Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and China now have policies that encourage couples to have kids. South Korea has spent more than $200 billion in the last 16 years to boost its population.
Despite the money and policies, South Korea set a new record for the lowest birth rate in the world last year.
Governments want their populations to grow because a larger workforce helps the economy grow.
Aging populations are a concern for many Asian countries. About 30% of Japan’s population is over the age of 65.
Efforts to increase birth rates in the region have included measures like giving money to new parents, making education cheaper, giving longer parental leave, giving tax benefits, and providing more childcare options. But the data from the last few decades show the measures do not work.
The main reasons for low birth rates usually come from difficulties in handling work and family, and also from unfair treatment between genders.
It’s difficult for some countries like Japan to continue funding the measures, but some say it’s important. They think that without the funding, birth rates would be lower.
Asian governments are also investing in technology to help lower the impact of their decreasing populations and decreasing workforce. Japan and South Korea are also considering changing immigration policies.
Vocabulary
- Birth rate – The number of babies born in a certain period of time
- Asia’s major economies – The countries in Asia with the biggest economies (China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, etc.)
- Concern – worry; anxiousness; anxiety; unease; distress;
- Region – a large area of the Earth; an area of land with similar qualities/characteristics
- Situation – condition; circumstance; state of affairs; the way it is; event; occurrence
- Policy – a set of ideas or plans that is used for making decisions; guidelines; code; rules
- Encourage – suggest that someone does something; persuade; urge; push
- Boost – to help increase; to improve; to push up
- Population – all the people living in a particular country, area, or place
- Despite – In spite of; or regardless of; even though; although
- Record – the most or least ever; the highest level ever; achieved for the first time
- Workforce – The group of people who are employed or available for work
- Economy – the system according to which the money, industry, businesses and trade of a country/region are organized; the supply of money, production of goods and purchase of goods; the flow of money between people, businesses and government
- Age – to grow old; to make/cause someone to look older
- Effort – attempt; hard work; trying to do something;
- Include – to contain; incorporate; to be part of; to have something smaller as a part of it;
- Measure(s) – plan; procedure; an action; a step
- Parental leave – Time off from work given to parents, usually after the birth or adoption of a child
- Tax – money that a government requires people or businesses to pay
- Benefit – advantage; something good; merit; strong point; perk
- Childcare – The care and supervision of children, usually by someone other than their parents
- Unfair treatment – actions or processes that are not fair, unjust or wrong
- Gender – female or male; man or woman
- Fund – to provide the money to pay for an event, activity or thing; pay for; finance; support
- Invest – put money into; spend money on a project or business
- Impact – influence; effect; consequence; to make change
- Consider – to think about carefully; to take ‘something’ into account when thinking or deciding;
- Immigration – the act of someone coming to live in a different country; international movement of people to another country that is not theirs
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- What other measures do you think Asian governments could take to encourage couples to have more children?
- How do you think decreasing birth rates will affect the economies of Asian countries in the long run?
- Do you think it’s fair for governments to invest money in increasing birth rates, even though many people say it’s difficult to handle work and family? Why or why not?
- What are your thoughts on changing immigration policies as a solution to the decreasing populations and workforce in Japan and South Korea?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
