birth rate

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Russia Outlawing 'Child-Free Propaganda'

Putin wants women to have more children

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin wants the women of Russia to have more children, and the government took a big step toward making that wish formal on Tuesday. The nation's lower house of parliament approved a law that would ban "child-free propaganda," meaning anything that might promote the idea that...

Tokyo Is Giving a 'Gentle Push' to People Looking for Love

Japanese city to launch a dating app to help with the 'marriage hunting' process

(Newser) - In Japan, where birth rates are low , it's not unusual to see local governments hosting matchmaking events to encourage people to hook up and start a family. Now, the country's capital is taking things a step further and launching a dating app, expected to be released this summer,...

Diaper Maker Won't Make Them for Japan's Babies Anymore

Manufacturer to switch to making diapers for adults, citing low demand for infant version

(Newser) - With births at a record low for modern times in Japan, a diaper manufacturer will transition from producing diapers for little ones to those for adults. Call it a late response to the market: Japan's elderly have used more diapers than the nation's infants for more than a...

The Lowest Fertility Rate in the World Just Got Lower—Again

Incentives fail to counter South Korea's 'national emergency'

(Newser) - South Korea's "national emergency" of declining births was only exacerbated in 2023 as the world's lowest fertility rate fell further. The average number of babies expected to be born to a woman during her reproductive life fell from 0.78 in 2022 to a new record low...

China's Women Continue to Buck Party Line

They're resisting calls for more kids, contributing to 2nd straight year of population decline

(Newser) - China's promises of cash, tax deductions, and housing subsidies for women who have children failed to pay off again in 2023. Though President Xi Jinping has talked a lot about the need for women to focus on marriage and children , the country's birth rate fell for a seventh...

Kim Jong Un Would Like Women to Have More Babies, Please

North Korean leader wants women to step up to stop nation's declining birth rate

(Newser) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said it's the duty of women to halt a fall in the country's births in order to strengthen national power, state media said Monday, as his government steps up the call for its people to have more children. While getting a...

Xi to China's Women: Time for a 'New Trend of Family'

Leader's speech to state-run women's rights group urges women to focus on 'family harmony'

(Newser) - It's not enough for women to work on their own development, according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said Monday that women must also strive toward "family harmony, social harmony, national development, and national progress," in large part by having children. He urged women to establish a...

Japan Hits a Gray Milestone
Japan Hits a
Gray Milestone
Sep 19, 2023 1:30 PM CDT

Japan Hits a Gray Milestone

Nation clocks in with more than 10% of population over age 80 for first time

(Newser) - It is very, very common knowledge that the median age of Japan's population is, well, not associated with the term "spring chicken." With what the BBC reports is the planet's oldest population—the yardstick there being the percentage of people 65 or older, of which Japan...

In China, an Unusual Tactic to Boost Young Marriage

One region is bestowing cash for brides under 25

(Newser) - Officials in one part of China are urging people to get married at a young age, with cash as an incentive. Couples who marry in Zhejiang province's Changshan County when the bride is 25 or younger will receive a $137 cash bonus, the county announced last week, noting the...

Pope Francis: I Told Off Woman With Dog

Pontiff warns against pets replacing kids amid Italy's demographic crisis

(Newser) - In numerous countries in the EU, birth rates are declining, including in Italy, which could lose nearly 20% of its residents by 2050. Those stats are apparently putting Pope Francis on edge, enough to spur him to warn Italian citizens not to let their anxieties about the future keep them...

We Haven't Seen This on the Birth Front for 7 Years

There was a 1% increase in number of births in 2021—the first rise since 2014, per CDC report

(Newser) - For the first time in seven years, the US birth rate has risen—meaning predictions that the pandemic would have a more significant impact on becoming a parent went slightly off course. Americans welcomed to the world 3.66 million babies in 2021, up 1% from the previous year, according...

Median Age for Giving Birth in US Hits Record High

It's now 30, according to US Census Bureau

(Newser) - For Allyson Jacobs, life in her 20s and 30s was about focusing on her career in health care and enjoying the social scene in New York City. It wasn't until she turned 40 that she and her husband started trying to have children. They had a son when she...

In Alabama, 2 Bleak Firsts for the Population

In 2020, more deaths than births in the state, and the most total deaths ever in one year

(Newser) - Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama's chief health officer, recently asked his staff to pore over state mortality records, and his crew came back to him with two sobering numbers. In 2020, for the first time since the early 1900s, Alabama had more deaths than births, Harris announced Wednesday at a...

Drop in US Birth Rate Could Lead to 'Demographic Time Bomb'

Birth rates have fallen for the 6th year in a row, and pandemic may be helping that trend along

(Newser) - For the sixth year in a row, birth rates in the US have fallen, and, combined with a slowing down of immigration and an increasing number of deaths, it all points to a "shifting demographic picture" in America, reports the New York Times . CDC data released Wednesday shows there...

Baby Boom? Instead, We're Getting a Pandemic Baby Bust

Birthrate in US is falling sharply

(Newser) - In the early days of the pandemic, with people confined to their homes, it wasn't unusual to hear predictions of an impending baby boom. But in an op-ed at the New York Times , two economics professors say the opposite is happening. The US is facing a "baby bust,...

This Country Just Saw Its First-Ever Population Drop

South Korea had more deaths than births in 2020, and the pandemic likely made things worse

(Newser) - For the first time ever, South Korea's population has seen a downturn, with the decline likely exacerbated by the pandemic. Census figures reported by Yonhap show a count of 51,829,023 at year's end, a nearly 21,000 drop from 2019, per the Guardian . The population had...

In China, a 'Slow, Painful, Creeping Genocide'
In China, a 'Slow, Painful,
Creeping Genocide'
INVESTIGATION
Jun 29, 2020 9:01 AM CDT

In China, a 'Slow, Painful, Creeping Genocide'

AP report: Country is systematically forcing birth control on Uighurs to cut down Muslim population

(Newser) - The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country's Han majority to have more children. While individual women have spoken out before about...

With New CDC Stat, a US 'Baby Bust' Continues

Births in America fell about 1% from 2018, leading to fewest number of newborns in 35 years

(Newser) - US births continued to fall last year, leading to the fewest number of newborns in 35 years. The decline is the latest sign of a prolonged national "baby bust" that's been going on for more than a decade, the AP notes. Some experts believe the coronavirus pandemic and...

New Stat Hints at a 'Demographic Time Bomb'
New Stat Hints at
a 'Demographic
Time Bomb'
THE RUNDOWN
Jan 17, 2020 9:42 AM CST

New Stat Hints at a 'Demographic Time Bomb'

Low birth rate, low death rate in China has researchers, economists there worried

(Newser) - There's a "looming crisis" brewing in China, one the New York Times says could eventually have a "seismic effect." Per the country's National Bureau of Statistics, about 14.6 million babies were born there last year, an almost 4% drop from 2018. It's the...

Another Drop in Fertility Rate Suggests Deep Social Change

Births increased among women in late 30s, early 40s

(Newser) - The US fertility rate fell for a fourth year in a row in 2018 to the lowest level in about three decades. The 3,791,712 births—59.1 for every 1,000 women of childbearing age—was down 2% from 2017 and 15% from 2007, according to data out...

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