It is estimated that the rate of fertility of China it will have fallen to a record low of 1.09 by 2022, the National Business Daily reported on Tuesday, a figure that is likely to make authorities nervous as they try to boost the country’s declining number of births.
The state-backed newspaper noted that the figure from the China Population and Development Research Center ranks China with the lowest fertility level among countries with a population of more than 100 million.
The Chinese rate is already one of the lowest in the world, along with those of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Concerned by the first decline in China’s population in six decades and its rapidly aging population, Beijing is urgently testing a series of measures to boost the birth rate, including economic incentives and better childcare services. President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting in May to study the matter.
China has said that it will focus on education, science and technology to improve the quality of the population and strive to maintain a level of “moderate fertility” to support future economic growth.
The high cost of childcare and career interruption have discouraged many women from having more or no children. Gender discrimination and traditional stereotypes of women caring for their children remain widespread throughout the country.
In recent months, the authorities have increased the rhetoric about dividing up child-rearing tasks, but paternity leave remains limited in most provinces.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion
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