VOA新闻杂志2024 韩国生育率再次下降

 

South Korea’s Fertility¹ Rate Falls Again as Women Worry about Jobs

韩国生育率再次下降

South Korea's fertility rate, which already is the world's lowest, dropped again in 2023.

韩国的生育率已经是全球最低，但在2023年却再次下降。

This means that the number of babies a South Korean woman is expected to have during her reproductive years dropped from 0.78 in 2022 to 0.72 in 2023.

这意味着，韩国女性在生育期预计生育的婴儿数量从2022年的0.78下降到2023年的0.72。

Concerns about missing² out on long-term jobs and the cost of raising a child are reasons given for the low rate.

人们担心失去长期工作和抚养孩子的成本是造成低生育率的原因。

The fertility number is much lower than the rate of 2.1 per woman that would be needed to keep South Korea's population stable.

韩国的生育率远低于保持人口稳定所需的每名女性生育2.1人。

In 2015, when the cost of housing³ and education were lower, the rate was 1.24. That means South Korea's population has been shrinking⁴ for a long time.

2015年，当住房和教育成本较低时，该比率为1.24。这意味着韩国的人口在很长一段时间内一直在减少。

The South Korean government is trying to encourage men and women to start families. Since 2018, the nation has been the only member of a group of large economies to have a rate below one. The Organisation⁵ for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) includes a wide group of nations such as Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand as well as Mexico and Chile.

韩国政府正在努力鼓励男性和女性组建家庭。自2018年以来，韩国一直是某大型经济体组织中唯一生育率低于1的成员国。经济合作与发展组织包括英国、美国、澳大利亚、新西兰以及墨西哥和智利等众多国家。

Among OECD nations, South Korea has the largest difference in pay between men and women. Balancing motherhood with a job is a concern for South Korean women.

在经合组织国家中，韩国的男女薪酬差距最大。平衡母亲身份和工作是韩国女性关注的问题。

Jung Jae-hoon is a professor at Seoul Women's University. Jung noted⁶ that women have trouble moving their careers forward after taking leave to care for children.

郑在勋是首尔女子大学的教授。郑指出，女性在请假照顾孩子后，很难推进自己的事业。

An example of this is Gwak Tae-hee who is 34. She is concerned about missing career opportunities if she stops working to start a family. She has been married for three years and works⁷ as a manager for a company that makes milk products.

34岁的郭泰希就是一个例子。她担心如果自己停止工作去生头胎，会失去职业机会。她结婚三年了，在一家生产乳制品的公司担任经理。

"Having a baby is on my list, but there's windows for promotions⁸ and I don't want to be passed over," she said.

她说：“生孩子一直在我的考虑当中，但目前有晋升的机会，我不想被忽略。”

Gwak said she considered starting medical treatments last year that would help her have a child. However, she decided⁹ against it because she wanted to take on work projects that would help her career.

郭说，她去年考虑开始接受有助于受孕的治疗。然而，她决定放弃这样做，因为她想从事有助于她的职业生涯的工作项目。

"I hope it's not too late when I try next year or the year after," Gwak said.

郭说：“我希望明年或后年尝试时不会太晚。”

If the birth rate continues to drop, South Korea's population of about 51 million will be cut in half by 2100.

如果出生率继续下降，到2100年，韩国约5100万人口将减少一半。

In Seoul, the largest city and capital, the fertility rate is only 0.55.

在韩国最大城市和首都首尔，生育率只有0.55。

The nation has an election¹⁰ in April, and politicians have been offering ideas to make it easier for young adults to consider having children. The ideas include more housing and financial support for people thinking of having a family.

韩国将于4月举行大选，政客们一直在提出让年轻人更容易考虑生孩子的想法。这些想法包括为头胎家庭提供更多的住房和经济支持。

An official at Statistics¹¹ Korea said there are some people who are a couple but do not get married. In South Korea, many people see marriage as a requirement to have children, so that reduces the number of babies. But the official told Reuters that right now the group is centering its work on trying to help married people feel better about starting families.

韩国统计局的一位官员说，有些人是情侣，但没有结婚。在韩国，许多人将结婚就要生孩子，所以这样做减少了婴儿的数量。但这位官员告诉路透社，目前该组织的工作重点是帮助已婚人士对生头胎感觉更踏实。

Politicians are worried that additional¹² social spending has not encouraged more families. Since 2006, the government has spent about $270 billion in areas such as helping¹³ families pay for childcare, but the fertility numbers are still falling.

政客们担心，额外的社会支出并不能鼓励更多的家庭。自2006年以来，政府在帮助家庭支付育儿费用等领域花费了约2700亿美元，但生育率仍在下降。

South Korea, however, is not the only nation concerned about falling birth rates. China and Japan also recorded all-time low rates in 2022.

然而，韩国并不是唯一一个担心出生率下降的国家。2022年，中国和日本的生育率也创下历史新低。

1 fertility   

n.肥沃；繁殖力

参考例句：

• A green manure is a crop grown mainly to improve soil fertility.种植绿肥作物主要是为使土壤更加肥沃。
• She is taking drugs to increase her fertility.她为了增强她的生殖能力而在服药。

2 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

3 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

4 shrinking   

a.畏缩的，犹豫不决的

参考例句：

• She purposely made the dress larger to allow for shrinking when it was washed. 她故意把衣服做大一些，以防洗时缩水。
• I can't imagine why a dynamic young woman like her is marrying a shrinking violet like him. 我不能想像，像她这样一个充满活力的年轻女子为什么会嫁给他这样一个胆怯害羞的人。

5 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

11 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

12 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。