Why Rich Countries Have No Future

Bright Side

In many wealthy countries, fewer babies are being born than needed to keep the population stable. Places like Japan, Italy, and South Korea are struggling the most, even though their governments have tried everything from cash bonuses to better parental leave. Raising kids is expensive, jobs aren’t always stable, and in many cultures, women are expected to handle most of the childcare—making it tough to balance work and family. But it’s not all bad news! Countries like France and the US have found ways to slow the decline by offering strong support for parents, like affordable childcare and flexible work policies. If more nations follow their lead, maybe birth rates can bounce back—but it’s going to take big changes!  Credit: Total Fertility Rate Map: By Korakys, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92951369 Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Telegram: https://t.me/bright_side_official   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00So, it turns out that so-called rich countries are facing a big problem.

00:05People are not having kids.

00:07Not enough, at least.

00:08On average, women need to have two children to keep things balanced, but they're only

00:13having one, or none at all.

00:16This issue comes down to the fertility rate, or simply the average number of kids a woman

00:20is expected to have in her lifetime.

00:23When that number's too low, it means more people are passing away in these countries

00:27than being born.

00:28And that can destroy the economy.

00:31Think of a rich country – the US, Germany, Japan.

00:35Great, pick any wealthy nation you like, and I can promise you one thing – its fertility

00:40rate is below 2.1.

00:43And that's a problem.

00:44Here's why.

00:45Meet Mary and John.

00:47And over here we've got Jack and Lucy.

00:49That's 4 people total.

00:51Now both couples get married.

00:52Mary and John have two kids, but Jack and Lucy only have one.

00:57Now what does that mean?

00:59Simple math – we're down by one person.

01:02And if this keeps happening, generation after generation, the population starts to shrink.

01:08The situation gets pretty scary when we zoom in on certain countries.

01:12Take Spain, Italy, or Poland.

01:14These countries have some of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union, with women there

01:19having on average just one kid.

01:23But that's a big problem, because it drags down entire economies.

01:27Picture a triangle – young people and workers at the bottom, and the elderly at the top.

01:32In many rich countries, that bottom part is shrinking fast, with fewer babies being born

01:37each year.

01:38So it's like this triangle is flipping upside down.

01:41Fewer young folks and workers, but more and more older people.

01:45With fewer workers and more retirees, the economy struggles to stay balanced.

01:51It's like the domino effect – fewer people working means fewer people paying taxes.

01:56Meanwhile, the older population at the top keeps growing.

01:59And now we have a way bigger group depending on pensions and stuff like Social Security.

02:04So we're left asking, who's gonna pay for all these retirements?

02:10Some countries are in hotter water than others, and South Korea is really feeling the heat.

02:15They've got more and more people getting older, while fewer and fewer babies are being

02:19born.

02:20In fact, they've got the lowest fertility rate in the world.

02:23In 2023, it hit rock bottom – 0.72 births per woman.

02:29Now personally, I don't know how you can have three-quarters of a kid, but hey, that's

02:34statistics for you.

02:35Meanwhile, if things keep going like this, Korea's population could shrink by half

02:40by 2100.

02:43Over the last 20 years, their authorities have invested in the equivalent of $286 billion

02:49in this issue, and they've rolled out a bunch of incentives to turn things around.

02:54First up, pocket money.

02:56If a married couple in Korea decides to have their first kid, the government hands over

03:00about $10,000 split into monthly payments to help out.

03:05While that might sound impressive, it's only about 3 times the average monthly wage.

03:10And in Seoul, one of the most expensive cities in the world, that doesn't go very far.

03:15Next, a home.

03:18Paying rent in Seoul is insane, but the government doesn't want people to leave the capital

03:22because of it.

03:23So, they're stepping in.

03:25Recently, they've promised to give families around $300 a month to help with housing,

03:30until the kid turns 2.

03:32Then again, $300 seems great, but it only covers about 11% of the rent for a 3-bedroom

03:38apartment in the city center.

03:41And last but not least, health care.

03:44Hospital bills are covered, but the couple must be married, on paper and everything.

03:50South Korea came up with all this to fix the problem.

03:53Otherwise, their population might get older, poorer, and more dependent on others for care.

03:58But when you think about it, all these incentives really come down to one thing – giving out

04:03cash.

04:05Even so, their demographic problem hasn't gotten any better, so the authorities had

04:10to come up with more creative solutions, like offering jobs with flexible hours for parents

04:15with kids under 5.

04:17And they can borrow things like toys or strollers from the government, totally for free.

04:22So why don't women want to become mothers?

04:24There's a bunch of reasons.

04:26But one of the most important is work.

04:29Women are getting more education and grabbing more opportunities in the job market than

04:33ever before.

04:34A lot of jobs have crazy hours, with people working late every single day.

04:39So many women get stuck in that cycle – waking up early, going to work, coming home late,

04:45and sleeping.

04:46Then, it all starts over the next day.

04:49They don't have time to meet a partner, and even less time to raise someone.

04:54In fact, education in general is one of the biggest reasons why birth rates are dropping.

05:00Spending so many years in school, then in college, means women are pushing back the

05:04age they have their first kid.

05:06Once they finish their education, they often want to focus on work and building their careers

05:11before starting a family.

05:13So they're not becoming moms in their teens or early 20s anymore.

05:18And by the time they hit 30, things aren't much better.

05:21Sure, they might finally land a stable job, but most employment policies still don't

05:26offer enough support for childcare.

05:29But it's not only education.

05:31Younger generations are getting delayed in, well, everything.

05:34I mean, it's way harder for them to tick off all the adulting boxes, like having a

05:40well-paying job or buying a nice house.

05:43And these things are usually a big part of whether people decide to start a family or

05:47not.

05:49Another reason people aren't having kids – putting a new human into this world is

05:53expensive and time-consuming.

05:56The average childcare costs in Australia, for example, have gone up faster than inflation.

06:01School tuition, even for public schools, takes a big chunk out of parents' budgets.

06:06Think about it – computers, uniforms, field trips, extracurricular activities – all

06:11that adds up to the cost of financing someone's education.

06:15Over 13 years, parents spend over $80,000 on public education.

06:20But if we're talking about private schools, that number jumps up to almost $350,000.

06:27And don't worry – these costs are just for one kid.

06:30Now imagine having two or three!

06:33So what is the solution?

06:35Well, there are two ways to tackle the problem that don't involve pushing the population

06:40to have more kids.

06:42Nations can keep their population healthier and employed longer, like what Singapore is

06:47doing.

06:48They're putting a lot of effort into raising the retirement age, offering mid-life training,

06:53and encouraging companies to hire older workers, like those over 69.

06:58Another way is to encourage people from other countries to come in, especially young ones

07:02who are ready to work.

07:04That's, for example, the strategy Canada uses.

07:07Now, if the goal is really to get women to have more kids, a lot of countries use the

07:12Baby Bonus Strategy, basically giving money and benefits to families, just like South

07:18Korea does.

07:19The problem is that some experts say it is pretty ineffective, as financial incentives

07:24don't address the complexity of the issue.

07:28For them, what these wealthy countries need to do is offer better career and housing opportunities

07:33for young people.

07:35Like giving incentives for companies to offer more flexible hours or work-from-home options

07:39for young parents.

07:42They also need to push strategies to lower the cost of housing, especially in big cities.

07:47Plus, they need to focus more on the aging population, using technological innovations

07:52to support them.

07:54That would help not just parents, but families as a whole.

07:58So what do you think?

08:01That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like

08:05and share it with your friends!

08:07Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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