South Korea earmarks 88.5 tln won for response to low birth rate, aging population in 2025
The government will spend 88.5 trillion won (US$64.8 billion) this year alone to help boost the country's low fertility rate and address problems associated with its rapidly aging population, the health ministry said Friday, Yonhap reports.
The budget, approved at a population crisis response meeting, marks a 6.4 percent increase from that of last year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Under the budget plan, the government will invest 28.6 trillion won in projects designed to increase the country's fertility rate, such as cash handouts for babies and parents.
South Korea's fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, stood at 0.79 in April, up 0.06 from a year earlier, but still one of the lowest in the world.
Another 12.2 trillion won will be allocated to supporting local governments' projects aimed at tackling demographic challenges, the ministry said.
Earlier, it was reported that the South Korean government is set to promote influx of foreign workers into depopulation areas.