South Korea finds economic stability is key to encourage marriage and family

A December 2025 government survey in South Korea has pointed out several economic factors as crucial drivers for marriage and childbirth, reinforcing the idea that economic empowerment can encourage family life amid the country’s birth rate crisis. 

Key Takeaways:

• A new survey in South Korea has revealed that security in employment, income, and home ownership make a significant difference in men and women's likelihood in seeking marriage and family.

• South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, and therefore, this survey's information is likely to be useful to other countries struggling with low birth rates.

• While the country has funneled a significant amount of money toward incentivizing marriage and childbirth, it appears that economic and structural change in the country is likely to have a stronger impact on marriage and birth rates than governmental incentives.

The Details:

The South Korean Ministry of Data and Statistics published results from the country's first longitudinal cohort study, assessing individuals born between 1983 and 1995 over eight years beginning in 2015.

Groups of men and women with as little as a five-year age gap demonstrated stark declines in marriage and parenthood.

MEN:

• 42.9% of those born in 1983 were married by age 32, and 27% had children.

• 32.4% of those born in 1988, just five years later, were married by age 32, and just 17.8% had children.

Shockingly, in the greater Seoul area, 69.1% of men born in 1988 were unmarried and childless at age 32, according to the government survey.

WOMEN:

• 56.5% of those born in 1984 were married by age 31; 38.3% had children by age 32.

• 45.3% of those born in 1989 were married by age 31; just 27% had children by age 32.

But these disparities narrowed drastically among those with:

• full-time employment

• above-average incomes, and

• home ownership

Individuals who used parental leave were more likely to have multiple children, showing that supportive, family-oriented policies can encourage family formation.​

South Korea’s shockingly low total fertility rate, approximately around 0.72 to 0.75 children per woman in recent years, falls far below the replacement level of 2.1. Based on the government survey, it appears that economic pressures, not just personal decisions, have contributed to the country having the world's lowest birth rate. 

Commentary:

Such government figures show that economic uncertainties, such as rising housing costs and stagnant wages, can hamper marriage and parenthood. Thus, safeguarding and encouraging a culture of life is not only about resisting abortion, but also about creating a life-affirming and stable economic and social environment where choosing life is realistic and possible instead of daunting.

When a man and woman have dependable income sources to support a household and home ownership is not unattainable, marriage and children would likely be seen as more desirable.

It is significant that low birth rates are not merely the result of a loss of interest in having families, but that economic and structural pressures are contributors. 

Policymakers in South Korea must devote more effort and resources to facilitate job security and home ownership in order to boost their country’s population without undermining family values in the context of traditional marriage. 

The South Korean government’s own challenges in rejuvenating the country’s low birth rates prove that huge government expenditures alone are inadequate to encourage young South Korean adults to marry and raise families.

The Backstory:

For years, South Korea has channeled millions of dollars into cash incentives, childcare subsidies and fertility treatments to boost birth rates, yet the number of births kept decreasing, in part because young couples have been intimidated by the pressures of escalating housing costs, education expenses and job insecurities.

As an article in TIME magazine reported: 

Since April 2022, South Korea’s government has handed out vouchers worth 2 million won (around $1,500) to parents who produce their first child, with another 3 million won dispensed for every additional child. In an effort to further subsidize the cost of childbearing and childrearing, the government has continued to increase its budget for family cash assistance.

The monthly stipend parents receive for a newborn’s first year also increased in 2024 to a million won (around $740) from 700,000 in 2023. And since 2018, parents receive a 100,000 won ($74) handout every month for each child’s first several years. For a child born in 2024, parents are expected to receive—over eight years—at least 29.6 million won, or about $22,000, from the government.

The same TIME article also noted: 

... [W]hile handouts help, a better approach would be to focus on policies and programs that would address and improve broader quality-of-life issues. Such measures would bring their own unrelated benefits as well as indirectly help foster an environment where young people feel more inclined to have and raise children.

The Bottom Line:

In light of existing realities, these government figures showing job stability, income, and home ownership as major indicators of marriage and childbirth should serve as useful tools for policymakers to adopt a more holistic approach to family policy.

Likewise, other countries can imitate South Korea's data-driven approach to revive their own birth rates through sufficient and comprehensive socio-economic initiatives.