South Korea’s birthrate was the lowest among OECD countries, due largely to the “sampo generation,” those among the nation’s young people who give up dating, marriage and childbirth because of a lack of financial means.
According to the CIA’s The World Factbook, last updated on Monday, South Korea’s birthrate was in 219th place among the 224 countries, while Singapore had the lowest.
The organization predicted that a South Korean woman would give birth to an average of 1.25 children. A Singaporean woman would give birth to 0.80, while a woman in North Korea would give birth to 1.98.
Among the 224 countries, Niger had the highest birthrate. A woman in Niger would give birth to an average of 6.89 children, according to the book. Two other African countries, Mali and Burundi, took second and third place, respectively.