This file photo, taken March 10, 2022, shows a baby expo in the city of Goyang, north of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of women who had planned to have a child within two years have yet to give birth, a study showed Wednesday.
The Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (2008 to 2018) conducted on married women between 15 and 49 years of age showed that only 30 percent of the 959 women who had plans to ‘give birth to a child within two years’ had achieved childbirth.
The remaining 70 percent did not give birth within two years, 37.9 percent of whom have since given up on childbirth, said Shin Yoon-jeong, a researcher from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
This indicates that most women cannot follow their plans for childbirth.
In 2018, South Koreans believed that having an average of 2.1 children per family was ideal. In reality, however, the actual number of children expected from each woman stood at no more than one child.
“South Koreans are giving birth to one less child than they want,” Shin said.
Women engaged in economic activities were less likely to give birth to a child and more likely to postpone their pregnancy than those who weren’t engaged in economic activities.
Women with university degrees or higher were more likely to give birth to a child and less likely to give up on childbirth than those with a high school degree or lower.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
