Childcare costs in China are among the highest in the world

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

中国の養育費、世界でも有数の高額

2024.02.26 Mon posted at 17:00 JST

香港（ＣＮＮ） 中国の養育費は世界でも有数の高額にのぼっていることがわかった。中国のシンクタンク「育媧人口研究」が発表した新たな報告書で明らかになった。女性への不均衡な影響が高齢化の危機に直面している中国の急激な少子化を促進している。

報告書によれば、出生から１７歳までの子育てにかかる費用の全国平均は約７万４８００ドル（約１１００万円）。学士号の習得まで養育する場合は９万４５００ドル余りが必要となる。

報告書によれば、中国で子どもを１８歳まで養育する費用は、同国の１人あたりＧＤＰ（国内総生産）の６．３倍。この比率は韓国の同７．７９倍に次いで２番目。

オーストラリアは同２．０８倍、フランスは２．２４倍、米国は４．１１倍、日本は４．２６倍などとなっている。

報告書は「出産にかかる費用の高さや、女性が家庭と仕事を両立させることの難しさなどの理由から、中国人の子どもを持つという意欲は、ほぼ世界最低の水準にある。現在の状況を出生人口の崩壊と表現しても過言ではない」と指摘した。

Translation

2024.02.26 Mon posted at 17:00 JST

Hong Kong (CNN) It was understood that China's child support costs had climbed to one of the highest in the world. This was revealed in a new report released by the Chinese think tank YuWa Population Research. The disproportionate on women is driving a rapidly declining birthrate in China which was facing an aging crisis.

According to the report, the national average cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 would be approximately $74,800 (approximately 11 million yen). If you wanted to raise a child until the completion of a bachelor's degree, you would need to pay over $94,500.

According to the report, the cost of raising a child in China until the age of 18 would be 6.3 times the country's per capita GDP (gross domestic product). This ratio was second only to South Korea's 7.79 times.

On the same base Australia was 2.08 times, France was 2.24 times, the United States was 4.11 times, and Japan was 4.26 times.

The report stated, ``Due to the high cost of childbirth and the difficulty women have in balancing family and work, Chinese people's desire to have children is almost at the lowest level in the world. It is no exaggeration to describe the current situation as a collapse in the birth population."

              So, a report has found that China’s child supporting costs has climbed to one of the highest in the world. I am wondering how accurate the calculation is as China’s living standard is not that high compared with many advanced countries. Also, we have to remember that China is a vast country with regional differences.

Note:

YuWa Population Research (育娲人口研究) in the web-site says that they are a public welfare institution dedicating to research on population and related public policies. It is established under the leadership of Mr. Liang Jianzhang (梁建章), Mr. Ren Zeping (任泽平) and others. It brings together a group of outstanding experts on population and economic in China with a mission to promote the progress of China's population research and public policies. It focuses on population situation analysis, trend prediction, population mobility, fertility costs, fertility policy, etc. The experts are committed to become a top institution in population research that delivers positive energy of social responsibility, and provides advice and suggestion for promoting the healthy development of China's population and economy. (https://yuwa.org.cn/about)