From East Asia to the Mediterranean, discover five different approaches to ageing, shrinking populations
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Birth rates are falling across much of the world, and record-low rates in many countries are driving concerns around ageing populations and shrinking workforces.
Shifting social norms and cultures surrounding the role of women, high costs of living, and the legacy of historic campaigns are all contributing to falling birth rates. To sustain existing and future economies and populations, a range of methods is being considered to improve birth rates.
Here are five countries with some of the lowest birth rates globally, each with different ideas for increasing birth rates. The end objective is the same, but the policies and strategies being used to get there vary strongly.
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China – 6.2 births per 1,000 people – Widespread state intervention
After four consecutive years of population decline and with one of the lowest birth rates in the world, China implements some of the strongest policies. Its enormous state apparatus is carrying out an extremely interventionist approach – controversial, and targeted yet at the same time incoherent – in a frantic attempt to increase birth rates.
One of the most eye-catching recent policies is the introduction of a 13 per cent sales tax on contraceptives. This is part of a number of fiscal measures the government has been implementing: VAT has been removed from marriage-related services, the national healthcare insurance programme now covers all childbirth-related expenses, and an allowance of 3,600 yuan (£391) is granted to every child per year until they turn three. In addition, parental leave has been extended in many areas.
An ageing population attacks the root of the Communist Party’s ambitions for China going forward – it needs young people and a large workforce to sustain the type of economy which mirrors a global superpower – which explains why a more invasive approach is evident. There have been reports in some provinces of women receiving calls from local officials about their childbearing plans. Still grappling with the legacy of the decades-long one-child policy, the government’s extension into personal matters reflects China’s desperation for more children.
The initiatives ‘may have some effect, but their impact is likely to be limited,’ said senior research fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia, Xiujian Peng. China is trying, but it may well find that increasing birth rates is much more challenging than reducing them.
Hungary – 8.8 births per 1,000 people – Aggressive incentives and cultural dissemination
Under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, Hungary continues to implement waves of policies aimed at improving birth rates. At a level of heavy intervention unusual compared to other EU countries, five per cent of the country’s GDP is spent on a complex network of subsidies, loans, tax reliefs and other fertility-boosting schemes.
Aside from the more conventional policies, such as tax deductions for maternity and childcare allowances, there are more unusual approaches. Mothers with two or more children are exempt from paying income tax for life, and even one-child mothers don’t have to pay income tax until they are 30. A ‘baby loan’ for young married couples and car purchase subsidies for larger families are also ways the country is attempting to boost birth rates.
Away from fiscal tools, there are more subtle, but nevertheless influential vehicles driving what is ultimately required to have a shift in birth rates – cultural change. Upon arriving at Budapest Airport, adverts with smiling families with the motto ‘Family-Friendly Country’, serve as a way to ingrain ‘the family’ into the hearts and minds of Hungarians or anyone who arrives into the country.
With Orbán, Hungary has a closed attitude to immigration and aims to maintain the Christian-led, traditional family values, which they believe are being eroded in Europe. This has led to a determination to prioritise ‘the family’ as a flagship national strategy.
Italy – 6.5 births per 1,000 people – Modest, incremental policy
The country with the oldest citizens in Europe, with an average of 48.4 years, Italy has a very low birth rate that the government is trying to turn around. Rather than encouraging the formation of new families, which can lead to little success, they are going for something more specific: supporting existing large families.
Mothers in full-time work with three or more children are exempt from social security contributions, and parental leave is more remunerative. In terms of welfare systems, the General Family Allowance (GFA) ensures benefits are more in favour of families with children. More recently, a ‘baby bonus’ scheme ensures a tax-free allowance of 1,000 Euros for each newborn child.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has highlighted Hungary as a model for investing in family support, which she would like to emulate. Nevertheless, there is a chasm between this level of ambition and the implementation on the ground – a more succinct and incremental policy is occurring as opposed to a more aggressive strategy like in Hungary.
At the regional level, South Tyrol, a province in the north-east, has the highest birth rate in the country. Here, initiatives such as a free ‘Ben Arrivato Bebé’ (Welcome Baby) package, consisting of baby clothes and books, are given to every parent registering a newborn. Additionally, a Family + card gives parents with three or more children discounts in shops.
Patterns of birth rates within countries are far from homogeneous. South Tyrol shows how consistent signals from local governments and practical improvements to people’s lives can increase birth rates, even when other parts of the country are faring differently.
South Korea – 4.8 births per 1,000 people – Heavy spending
South Korea, the country with the lowest birth rate in the world, spends vast sums on various measures to increase fertility. In the past 16 years, this has totalled $270 billion, and yet the country still has a tremendously low birth rate. Similar to China, South Korea has had a long legacy of significant anti-natalist campaigns and is now finding it challenging to change what is often a common reluctance to have children or lots of them.
A key programme operated by local governments is the ‘baby bonus’ programme. This involves a monetary transfer to parents when they have a child. Every month, one million won (£500) is awarded to households with an infant under one, and 500,000 won (£250) is transferred to households with a baby between the ages of one and two.
Cash bonuses are given to assist with prenatal expenses; this reaches 3 million won (£1,500) if it is the couple’s second baby. In addition, mortgages set with cheaper interest rates are available to couples with newborns. In the capital Seoul, pregnant women can have their transportation expenses paid for by the government.
When it comes to childcare subsidies and total child support allowances, every South Korean baby is now accompanied by some 29.6 million won (£14,760) in government support through different programmes over the first eight years of their lives.
Financial incentives are not manifested only through the government, either. Large private companies such as Booyoung, a construction group, offer workers a staggering amount to have children, totalling around 100 million won (£50,000).
Strict immigration policies increase pressure on policies to address demographic concerns of an ageing population and a shrinking workforce. The recent small increase in fertility rates – the largest year-on-year gain for 34 years – is a cause for optimism. However, as more and more money gets spent on incentivising childbirth, the stakes get higher.
Singapore – 8.3 births per 1,000 people – Engineered incentives
With fertility rates reaching a record low in 2025, there are well-founded fears of a declining population, which could harm a country that has become a heavyweight in financial, technological, and maritime industries.
As a result, Singapore has an array of policies predominantly revolving around financial incentives.
In 2001, a baby bonus scheme was introduced, where cash gifts were given to couples having children. The amount would increase with the number of children, with the birth of a third child resulting in a cash gift of S$13,000 (£7,578). The government also matches parental contributions in children’s savings accounts. This is in addition to an insurance grant of S$5,000 (£2,915) for newborn expenses through Medisave.
There are more financial incentives on the housing side, too. A housing grant of S$80,000 (£46,632) is available to help married couples purchase a flat. The government ensures that priority for publicly managed housing is given to families.
Often, a significant reason for lower birth rates is that motherhood is incompatible with career ambitions. To address this imbalance, the Working Mother’s Child Relief provides a tax deduction for a portion of earnings when having children, encouraging women to stay in the workforce. The government has also capped monthly childcare fees and boosted the supply of pre-school places to more than 200,000.
Singapore’s financial incentives, engineered to have the highest impact across a range of fronts, reflect how public money can only go so far in encouraging birth rates, which can be widely held back by social and cultural standards.
