The Committee on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society starts the new year with its 1st meeting
- Regdate2013-01-28 15:08
- Hit7,766
The Committee on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society starts the new year with its 1st meeting
- They assessed the level of preparation citizens have for after retirement, and discussed ways to drive a population policy for sustainable national development –
The Committee on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society held this year’s first meeting on January 25th.
It is the first meeting since the Framework Act on Low Birth Rate in an Aging Society was revised on November 24th of last year.
- 24 new members of the committee were commissioned (10 from private sectors and 14 from government organizations including co-executive secretaries Professor Yoon Hyunsook at Hallym University and Minister of Health and Welfare Rim Chemin).
* The committee members from the government: Minister of Health and Welfare, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, Minister of Strategy and Finance, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Minister of Justice, Minister of National Defense, Minister of Public Administration and Security, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Minister of Knowledge Economy, Minister of Employment and Labor, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and chairman of the Financial Services Commission
- They assessed how people prepare for elderly life while coping with aging, and discussed pan-government countermeasures for sustainable national development.
The committee mapped out two basic plans since its launch after the Framework Act on Low Birth Rate in an Aging Society was legislated in 2005.
It has made efforts to come up with countermeasures against the aging society, such as lessening burdens from marriage and childbirth, and adopting basic pension programs and long-term care insurance.
As a result, Korea is expected to no longer be one of the lowest-low fertility countries of the world (lower than 1.30 children per woman) for the first time in 11 years with anticipation that the cumulative fertility rate until November of last year will likely reach 1.30 children per woman.
* 1.30 children per woman in 2001 -> 1.08 in 2005 -> 1.24 in 2011 -> around 1.30 in 2012 (estimated figure by the Korea National Statistical Office)
* Durations of lowest low fertility rate for major countries: 4 years in Germany (1992-1995), 9 years in Greece (1996-2004), and 11 years in Italy (1993-2003)
|
< Number of newborn babies by month in 2012 (population trends in 2012 by the Korea National Statistical Office) >
Number of newborns is 38,400 babies, up 1,100 (2.9 percentage points) than the same month of last year
< Number of newborns nationwide and increase/decrease rates >
< Changes of nationwide births by month >
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
However, Korea faces the world’s lowest fertility rate, along with a high rate of increase in average population age, which sharply decreases the working-age population and threatens the nation’s future.
* Increase rate of the working-age population: (‘90) 1.87% → (’00) 0.8% → (‘09) 0.95% → (’12) 0.38%
Thus, the government has empowered the committee with the revised framework act in order to express its will to solve the low birth rate and aging issues.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Health and Welfare suggested that a new population policy should focus on generational equity and the sustainability of national development.
It also stressed the importance of policy responses to the last population increase period which lasted 5 to 10 years.
- The ministry added that whether Korea would be the “world’s oldest nation” or a “young and dynamic nation” depends on successful preliminary policy responses.
* What is a 'dependency ratio'? Ratio of the work-age population to the elderly and youth.
1) Total dependency ratio = (population of 0 to 14 year olds + population older than 65) / population of 15 to 64 year olds × 100
2) Old-age dependency ratio = (population older than 65 / population of 15 to 64 year olds) × 100
3) Youth dependency ratio = (population of 0 to 14 year olds / population of 15 to 64 year olds) × 100
Professor Lee Sojung of Namseoul University presented the “Readiness Index” and its major contents which were co-created by the government and private groups for the last one year to study how people prepare for old age.
- The report found that the average readiness index of people is ‘normal’, and that of people in their 40s, married people, salary men and women, and people having children is comparatively high.
- It also said that the category of health and personal relations shows a high index figure while that of finance and leisure is comparatively low, and thus, it is important that the government as well as individuals should make efforts to secure earnings in their old age and encourage participation in society.
< Points on how people prepare for old age (by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2012) >
The total points for people on their readiness for old age is 58.8 points (out of 100), and for the categories of personal relations, health, finance, and leisure are 61.1 points, 75 points, 47.1 points and 46.1 points, respectively.
* If a total readiness score is higher than 65.1 points, that group is considered as a highly prepared group, between 65 and 46.6 is normal, and lower than 46.5 is considered low.
As the first mission of this year, the Committee on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society will list national agendas to make a proper demographic structure, prioritize short- and mid-term tasks, and prepare detailed action plans.
[ENG][1.25]The Committee on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society starts the new year with its 1st meeting.docx