Vatican newspaper highlights demographic crisis in South Korea, Japan
March 15, 2024
» Continue to this story on L'Osservatore Romano (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: In an analysis of the demographic crisis in South Korea and Japan, the Vatican newspaper noted that “in 2023, 229,970 children were born in South Korea, a decrease of 7.7% compared to 2022 for the country with the lowest fertility rate in the world (0.72).”
“The situation is no different in Japan: in the country with the highest average age in the world (48 years), 758,631 children were born in 2023, an all-time low,” wrote Guglielmo Gallone, a reporter for the newspaper.
In analyzing the demographic crisis, Gallone said that “both countries have a rigid approach to migration, a fundamental phenomenon for the demographic destiny of a country.”
“Driven by the increase in working hours and urbanization, more and more people have moved to metropolises, creating, however, economic problems in accessing services,” he added. “Too many young people have felt forced to choose between work or family. Faced with a rapidly changing lifestyle, individualism has taken over, just as in the West.”
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