[Initial Insight] The Secret Behind Germany's Birth Rate Rebound

Child Allowance Extended Up to Age 25
Generous Childcare Support Boosts Birth Rate
Active Acceptance of Immigrants and Refugees Also Plays a Role

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] Recently, an acquaintance living in Freiburg, Germany, visited Korea. This acquaintance, who met her German husband while studying abroad and has two children, had not been able to visit Korea for nearly three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning after a long time, she seemed deeply moved. Watching her children play excitedly, she shared an unexpected story. She said, "There are three large maternity hospitals in the city, and even during the COVID period, the sound of babies crying never stops," and laughed, saying she was seriously considering having a third child.

When the reporter visited in 2019, Baden-W?rttemberg, the state to which Freiburg belongs, had a fertility rate of 1.57 children per woman, surpassing Berlin (1.41) and the total fertility rate of Germany at the time (1.54). Families with three children were easily found nearby, making the normalization of 'large families' a reality there.

Curious about the reasons, Freiburg is known to Koreans as the city where soccer player Jung Woo-young plays, but in fact, this city is called the 'Environmental Capital of the World.' In the early 1970s, Freiburg transformed into an energy self-sufficient city by opposing nuclear power plants. One of the most familiar sights in Freiburg is environmental group rallies and parents riding bicycles with their children. Most of the city can be accessed on foot or by bicycle, and since children grow up using bicycles as part of daily life, many do not feel the need for a car.

In addition to the clean urban environment, Germany's proactive childcare support policies have also contributed to raising the fertility rate. Germany's child allowance (Kindergeld) differs from Korea's in terms of duration and amount. In Korea, child allowance is paid monthly at 100,000 won only for children under 8 years old. Although a new 'parental allowance' of 350,000 to 700,000 won per month was introduced next year for households raising children aged 0 to 1, support is concentrated only in infancy, which is a limitation.

On the other hand, the German government provides Kindergeld regardless of income, based on the number of children in a family: 219 euros each for the first and second child, 225 euros for the third child, and 250 euros for the fourth and subsequent children. Even more surprising is the payment period. Kindergeld is paid to all children up to 18 years old, to children who are not working up to 21 years old, and to those receiving vocational training up to 25 years old. Furthermore, thanks to comprehensive government support such as the introduction of all-day schools, Germany's fertility rate, which hit a historic low of 1.24 in 1994, has rebounded to around 1.6. Additionally, Germany has sought solutions to low birthrates and aging population issues through active acceptance of immigrants and refugees.

According to Statistics Korea, Korea's total fertility rate in the second quarter of this year hit a record low of 0.75. Korea's aging speed is the fastest among OECD countries, but its fertility rate is the lowest. Despite a bleak future due to the steep population cliff, efforts to solve low birthrates remain sluggish.

The Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, which was supposed to take charge of countermeasures, failed to act as a control tower due to organizational limitations. The government's abrupt push for a school system reform for 5-year-olds without public discussion drew sharp criticism. The low birthrate issue is a complex problem intertwined with metropolitan overpopulation, soaring real estate prices, burdensome private education costs, and hyper-competitive society, and cannot be solved by any single measure. Now, the president must take direct responsibility, recognize the problem, and start unraveling the tangled issues one by one.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.