96% of the respondents perceive ‘Children as expenses’

69% perceive ‘Childcare cost support as government’s responsibility

69% perceive ‘Equal parental leave is needed for both mom and dads’

68% ‘Willing to share workloads of a colleague on parental leave’

95% consider ‘Medcial service provision as government’s responsibility’

89% consider ‘Housing support as government’s responsibility’

In order to examine Korea's lowering fertility issue from a new perspective, KoPHWA recently conducted and announced the results of “The 1st Public Survey on Demographic Behavior&Awareness (2023)”

Target Population: Residents residing within Korean territory (ages 20-44)

Period: 2023. 10. 23. ~ 11. 13.

Topic: Public behaviors and awareness on marriage and childbirth

Method: Computer Aided Telephone Interview(CATI)

Respondent: 2,000 people (500 each of single and married, men and women)

Over the years, KoPHWA has been investigating public opinion on the lowering birthrate across various topics. This survey sought to find solutions to Korea's population crisis based on research from other countries that have already entered the stabilized stage of the declining birthrate.

※ KoPHWA has conducted various population surveys since 2017. 2023 survey focuses on the public response in times of declining birthrate.

The survey included questions on women’s participation in labor markets, life patterns related to childbirth/parenting, diverse levels of policy measures aiming for comprehensive understandings on falling birthrate.

Below are summaries of the main results:

The reasons for not wanting to have children :

‘Raising children costs a lot as they grow up (96.0%)’

‘Concerning about children’s future (88.8%)’

‘Having children has negative impact on woman’s career’ (77.6%)

‘Parenting costs freedom (72.8%)’

The preference for equal parental leave for both moms and dads:

‘Unmarried women (77.2%)‘ ‘Unmarried men (64.9%)‘

'Married Women(70,9%)', 'Married men(60,6%)'

Willingness to share workloads of a colleague on parental leave: Positive(67.9%)

Supports considered as the government’s responsibility:

‘Provision of appropriate medical services (94.6%)’

‘Support for work-life balance of women (90.9%)’

‘Support for work-life balance of men (98.9%)’

‘Support adequate housing (89.0%)’

‘Support for youth employment (85.7%)’

‘Support married couples to have as many children as they wish’ (84.9%)

The main provider of preschool child support :

‘The government and parents (30.6%)’ ‘Parents (26.7%)’ ‘The government (22.4%)’

Lee Sam-sik, president of KoPHWA, who took charge of the survey said, “The result indicate that the falling birthrates are closely related to perspectives of 20s-40s.” and “By thoroughly analyzing the survey results, it is important to devise countermeasures to make positive changes in Korean society.”

Additionally, he hoped that the survey would be utilized as essential data for designing new policies and contribute as crucial academic ground for conducting future research.

Latest Updates

Public Survey results on Demographic Behavior & Awareness (2023)