Main content

Will there be just six grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans?

We look at the numbers around South Korea鈥檚 birth rate and the reasons why it鈥檚 so low.

An article on the UK鈥檚 Telegraph newspaper website claimed that there would be just 6 grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans today. We ask whether that figure is correct and look at why South Korea鈥檚 birth rate has fallen to one of the lowest in the world, with the help of author and mathematician Rob Eastaway and journalist and author Hawon Jung.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producers: Bethan Ashmead Latham, Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: James Beard

(Children wearing traditional costume wave national flags during a celebration in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Sun 2 Jul 2023 23:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 1 Jul 2023 04:50GMT
  • Sat 1 Jul 2023 10:50GMT
  • Sun 2 Jul 2023 08:50GMT
  • Sun 2 Jul 2023 10:50GMT
  • Sun 2 Jul 2023 22:50GMT
  • Sun 2 Jul 2023 23:50GMT

Download this programme

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.