【We Chinese in America Media Editor Tang Zhao, April 11, 2022】 South Korea is the most expensive country in the world to raise children, followed by China, a large part of which is the cost of education and childcare. (Images from USDA)

Raising children is expensive no matter where you live, according to a survey by the Yuhua Population Research Institute cited by the Jefferies Group, CNN reported. If the child is drawn from 0 to 18 years old, South Korea ranks first, followed by China, and Italy ranks third. The US is in the middle of the top 14 most expensive countries, sandwiched between Germany and Japan.

Why is it so expensive to raise a child in the Far East?

A big part of that is education costs, as well as childcare costs. According to Jefferies, preschools in China until recently were mostly privately offered. In China, it costs more than $75,000 to raise a child until they are 18, and another $22,000 to get them through college.

Although in absolute terms, it is much lower than that of Western countries, including the United States, but the ratio of GDP per capita is very high. Analysts at Jefferies also pointed out that the key difference between the two sides is that "many Western countries have government-sponsored student loans. The burden is transferred from the parents to the children.” For example, in the 2019-2020 school year, 55% of college graduates in the United States had student loans on their backs when they left school.

Lawmakers can actually help reduce the cost of raising children, including subsidizing childcare to narrow the gap between income groups.

Generally speaking, the fertility rate in richer countries is lower than that in developing China, which is a so-called "demographic and economic contradiction", and the rich choose to have fewer children than those with lower incomes.

Analysts at Jefferies said that China's economic development "is likely to fall into the demographic-economic conflict like many other developed countries, and productivity may fall to a lower level than many expect". In addition, the number of marriages has also fallen, and children born out of wedlock are less common in Asia than in Western countries.

Demographic trends such as fertility rates affect a country's business and economy. An aging population can create a crisis in the social welfare system due to a shrinking working population. The need for automation may increase in the future to replace lost labor. Demographic trends also affect companies and stocks, although problems won't become apparent for decades.

"We expect the world, and China in particular, to continue to work hard and significantly reduce the cost of raising children," analysts at Jeffries said. This could include tax incentives, cash handouts, and various grants.

(Source: Compiled from Online Information)

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