In its 2024 report on the cost of raising a child by the age of 18 in China, the Wiwa Population Research Institute, a research institute for population and public policy in Beijing, said that raising one child in China amounts to 74,800 dollars, 6.3 times the per capita GDP. If a child is sent to a university, the child-rearing expenses will increase to 94,500 dollars. The cost of raising a child up to age 18 compared to GDP per capita in Korea was the highest in the world at 7.79 times in Korea. After Korea and China, Italy (6.28 times), the U.K. (5.25 times), New Zealand (4.55 times), Japan (4.26 times), the U.S. (4.11 times), and Germany (3.64 times). In contrast, Singapore (2.1 times), Australia (2.08 times), and France (2.24 times) are relatively less expensive to raise than income.
“Chinese people’s willingness to give birth is almost the lowest in the world due to the high cost of childbirth, the reason why it is not easy to balance women’s families and work,” the report said. “It is not an exaggeration to say that the current population situation is the collapse of the birth population.” In fact, the number of newborns in China has fallen for two consecutive years, falling below 10 million in 2022 and 2023. The report continued, “We need national policies to lower the cost of childbirth and childrearing as soon as possible,” calling for housing subsidies, cash support including tax benefits, expansion of opportunities for childbirth and parental leave, guarantee of health rights for unmarried women, and education reform.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
