Birth rate

Birth rate (출산율) is the average number of children born to each woman over the course of her life. It is called the "total fertility rate".

On the other hand, the "crude birth rate" is the number of births in a given population during a given time period (e.g., January 1 – December 31, 2011) divided by the total population and multiplied by one thousand.

In general, the total fertility rate is a better indicator because, unlike the crude birth rate, it is not affected by the age distribution of the population. Fertility rates tend to be higher in less economically developed countries and lower in more economically developed countries.

To maintain the birth rate at an appropriate level, the government has enacted necessary legislation based upon the principles of social welfare and rule of law.

Key words
birth rate, fertility rate, population, aging society

Factors affecting birth rate
It was not until a decade ago that the government policy shifted from birth control for the economic growth to birth promotion to deter quickly-aging society.

According to an Wikipedia article, the factors affecting birth rate are as follows:
 * Government population policy, such as Pro-natalist policies and antinatalist policies - for instance tax on childlessness
 * Availability of family planning services, such as birth control and sex education
 * Availability and safety of abortion and safety of childbirth
 * Infant Mortality Rate – A family may have more children if a country's infant mortality rate is high as it is likely some of those children will die.
 * Existing age-sex structure
 * Typical age of marriage
 * Strength if Divorce/Child Support Industries for breaking up families
 * Social and religious beliefs - especially in relation to contraception and abortion
 * Industrialization - in a pre-industrial agrarian economy, unskilled or semiskilled manual labor was needed for production (Children can be seen as an economic resource in developing countries as they can earn money.) As people require more training, parents tend to have fewer children, invest more resources in each individual child - the higher the level of technology the lower the birth rate: the Demographic-economic paradox
 * Economic prosperity/Economic difficulty - in difficult economic times, couples delay or decrease childbearing.
 * Poverty levels
 * Urbanization and housing shortage
 * Pension availability
 * Social conflicts or war

Current Legislation to Support Births
Under the principles of social welfare and rule of law, the government has implemented and enforced the following acts among others to encourage and promete childbirth and nursing:
 * Articles 74, 74-2, 75 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법) Article 74 (Protection of Pregnant Women) of the Act
 * (1) An employer shall grant a pregnant female worker 90 days of maternity leave before and after childbirth. In such case, 45 days or more shall be allocated after the childbirth.
 * (2) At the request of a pregnant female worker who has a miscarriage or still birth after 16 weeks of pregnancy, the employer shall grant her protective leave as prescribed by the Presidential Decree, except where the miscarriage is caused by an artificially induced abortion operation (excluding cases prescribed in Article 14 (1) of the Mother and Child Health Act).
 * (3) Of the leave under paragraphs (1) and (2), the first 60 days' leave shall be with pay, except that if maternity leave benefits, etc., are already paid pursuant to Article 18 of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, the employer shall be relieved of the responsibility to the extent of such amount. 
 * (4) No employer shall put a pregnant female worker on an overtime duty, and, if there is a request from the worker, the employer shall transfer her to a light duty.
 * (5) After the end of the protective leave under paragraph (1), the employer shall allow the female worker to return to the same work, or one with the same level of pay, as before the leave. 

Article 74-2 (Allowing Time Off for Prenatal Examination)
 * (1) If a pregnant female worker makes a request to take time off from work to receive a regular health checkup for pregnant women, the employer shall allow her to do so.
 * (2) An employer shall not cut a worker's wages on the ground that she takes time off for the health checkup under paragraph (1).

Article 75 (Nursing Hours)
 * A female worker who has an infant under twelve months shall be allowed to take paid nursing recesses, twice per day for more than 30 minutes each.


 * Framework Act on Social Security (사회보장기본법)
 * Framework Act on Women's Development (여성발전기본법)
 * Framework Act on Family Health (건강가정기본법)
 * Framework Act on Low Birth-Aging Society (저출산.고령사회기본법)
 * Framework Act on Education (교육기본법)
 * Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation (남녀고용평등과 일.가정 양립지원에 관한 법률))
 * Infant Nursing and Care Act (영유아보육법)

Current situation in Korea
Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, ranking 217th among 222 countries. This figure suggests that the average Korean woman bore fewer than 1.2 children as of 2011. More Korean women are avoiding marriage or having children, and those who do have kids are increasingly content with just one.

Women cannot be blamed for this trend because Korean society asks too much of them, de-manding a superwoman-like competency both at work and at home. Korean women work the long-est hours in the world, are often brushed aside when promotions come up and tend to be the first to get sacked in times of restructuring.

Probable consequences
Government officials and scholars worry about a substantial change of demographic structure if the current birth rate continues in the years to come. In reality, local governments are now suffered from the reduction of productive population.
 * Shortage of labor force at workplaces
 * Reduction of students enrolled to each level of schools
 * Dwindling effective demand for goods and services
 * Slow-down of real estate market
 * Increasing cost to support the aged
 * Reduced armed forces

Solutions
The solution to tackling the declining birth rate should be creating an environment where women can devote themselves to their work and lives at home with less pressure.

First, the nation's average 12 daily working hours — the world's highest — should be shortened.

Korean women must be given the choice to take more time off when their children are small. More flexibility in working hours is also necessary.

Second, government countermeasures should be implemented in a proper manner.

The problem is that, even though the government has mapped out a blueprint for resolving the record-low birth rate and quickly-aging society since 2011, many companies are ignoring it. Government policies are of no use if they aren't applied.

This means more companies need to follow the example set by Samsung Electronics, which has established a computer network system so that more employees can work at home. It also allows staff with children younger than 12 to take up to a year off. KT also runs a work-from-home system, and Korea Lilly has been operating a similar system since 2005.

But cases like these are far and few between. According to the Korea Women's Development Institute, only 20 percent of Korean companies employ flexible working hours, while roughly half offer extended maternity or childcare breaks. To make matters worse, very few employees make use of such services even when they are theoretically available, either due to peer pressure, fear of being discriminated against or some other reason.

Third, concerted efforts by government as well as employers are requisite to increase the birth rate.

In advanced societies, it has been proven that happiness at home and in the office often leads to a better performance at work. Employees' devotion to their work and productivity tends to rise if their companies take an interest in their family life. Companies must revamp their evaluation system so that employees are not discouraged from taking time off to care for their families.

Finally, it's a last resort to increase immigration quotas and/or to alleviate the nationality requirements.

If a solution to the low birth rate is not found, the country has no future.