Rise in Birth Rate, Rise in Childcare Cost

The Korean Statistics office reported this week that there was a 3.3 percent increase in birth rate from last year and an overall past decade increase of nearly 11 percent, which shows the number of married couples having three or more children has currently reached the highest in 27 years.

On the other hand, the number of childless households is expected to outnumber families with children by 2030. As of 2010, Korea‘s population reached over 48 million with close to 500,000 births a year.

The rising issue from the increased birth rate is the cost of childcare and daycare tuition fees. The Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs found the average cost of a private babysitter for infants and toddlers amounted to more than US$700 a month, therefore the parents are pressured to find cheaper alternatives such as leaving their children with family members or friends. Unfortunately, even leaving your children with family members and friends is costing average of US$480 a month.

The average working hours per week in Korea is around 45 hours.

(아주경제 앤드류 이 기자)

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com