[경제]’Shock’, the lowest fertility rate ever…

[앵커]

Last year, the total fertility rate in Korea was 0.84, another record low.

There are concerns that the existence of the country may be shaken if the country is not prepared for decades, such as the number of shortages in several universities.

Reporter Kim Tae-min.

[기자]

Korea’s fertility rate, which seemed to have nowhere to go down, reached another low last year.

Total fertility rate of 0.84 people!

What will happen to the future if a couple of men and women continue to have less than one child in their lifetime?

The total 270,000 births born last year are on the verge of disappearing half of the domestic university quota this year, and half of the current university within 20 years.

It is also predicted that by 2065, the number of people aged 65 years or older will be greater than those aged 15 to 64 years of age.

As there are no people to work and the number of people to support is increasing, there is a gloomy prospect that the national pension reserves will be exhausted by 2055.

The biggest cause of the current situation is that it is difficult for young people to lay the economic foundation for marriage, childbirth, and childrearing.

In fact, the average age of women who gave birth to their first child last year was 32.3 years old, which was more than 3 years old compared to the past OECD average.

As young couples have a lot of pressure to have children and raise them, the phenomenon of having a child later and having less is gradually settling.

[김수영 / 통계청 인구동향과장 : 결혼이 계속 늦어지면서 첫째 아이를 출산하는 연령이 높아지고 있고 이에 따라서 가임 기간이 짧아져 더 적은 자녀를 출산하는 데 영향을 주고 있는 것 같습니다.]

It is also necessary to consider the items of the enormous budget pouring into the low birth rate.

Out of the low birthrate budget of 40.2 trillion won last year, direct support such as cash and tax assistance was only 19 trillion won, which is less than half.

[이상호 / 한국경제연구원 고용정책팀장 : 간접 보조가 대부분이기 때문에 저출산 대책이 낡은 수도관처럼 누수가 많이 발생할 수 있다는 거죠. 현금보조로 전환해서 예산 지출의 효과성을 제고 해야 한다….]

As the natural decline of the population began for the first time last year, warnings are sounding that if you do not prepare for decades later, you may be in danger of worrying about the existence of the country, not of national competitiveness.

It is pointed out that the issue of low birthrates, which recurs every year, is now at a level that cannot be postponed any longer.

YTN Kim Taemin[[email protected]]is.

[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]