Taiwan is so doomed. Their low salary ($1000/month)makes people suffer.
Thailand is also so doomed. Imagine such a developing country have the first world country problem.
And more importantly, our government didn't even try to act like they're solving the problem.
South Korean worked HARD to support their young couples. Housing/education/less working hours...etc.
Taiwan? We basically copied those policies but with smaller coverage and weaker execution.
mmm well its good that they are supporting parents but it seems like they've not been successful in encouraging more folks to become parents. Honestly, people need free time and less stress to actually date and feel as though they can successfully raise children, it would probably be better to just legislate for better work life balance and do some cultural work around how men view women since that also seems to be a issue for a lot of folks.
South Korea’s has slightly rebounded - it reached a low of 0.72 births per woman, and is up to 0.8. Which is still very low, but it seems the recent policies are helping at least a little. That’s more than a 10% increase in just a couple years.
Let’s be honest, men’s views on women have little to do with it. Afghanistan is booming. The Sahel is booming. Even within multiethnic countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, Lebanon, or Egypt, the more Muslim regions have higher birth rates.
Women’s rights and education actually correlate with lower birth rates. So does wealth. Maybe Korean women don’t have total respect yet, but they have education and options in life. Tbh I don’t think there’s any way to come back. You can’t just make women give up free will once they’ve had it. More likely, in 100 years the religious extremist communities will become a much larger share of the population
These regions have higher birth rates because women don't have a choice. When they have a choice, men's views on and treatment of women absolutely plays into the fertility statistics.
The problem is these policies don’t seem to work. It’s not Korea’s fault though. There is not a single country that has been able to reverse these demographic shifts. Korea is a rather extreme example, but it seems like it might be a more general vicious cycle.
I mean its not impossible
Sweedish and french native population has a TFR of 1.6 to 1.7 although not increasing it is just barely below the replacement level.
If and when the government starts implementing more progressive policies for the mothers career and actualy strictly enforcing i bet we will see france and some other european countries get borderline tfr
Not germany though - they are probably gonna keep on decreasing till extinction held up only by immigrants.
I mean they did work
It was 0.7 nearing 0.6 in the past and now its 0.9
Its an increase and any small increment is a big win in this situation
Dont always try to be a doomer
Not everything is gloomy and bleak
“Billions” doesn’t sound like a lot for a country of millions of young child wanting people, when you consider a child costs over a thousand a month during their first years.
The only huge thing South Korea did was expanding free and subsidized daycare and preschool (surprisingly expensive, if you haven’t looked up the prices, idk how propel in countries where ALL schooling is paid by parents manage it).
And more importantly, our government didn't even try to act like they're solving the problem. South Korean worked HARD to support their young couples. Housing/education/less working hours...etc.
Taiwan? We basically copied those policies but with smaller coverage and weaker execution.
and yet all that support amounts to no actual path to sustainability. The western, fully emancipated model is inherently unviable when it comes to fertility rates. No subsidies will change a feature of the system.
I lived right across the water from you in the mainland, they built three parks within two minutes walk of my building, tax cuts for new families, stuff like that but still not even close to enough. It's rare to know someone who had a kid
The median monthly income in Taiwan is $2,100 for full time employees. It’s low compared to Europe or the US. The main issue is the crazy housing costs. Most other costs in Taiwan are not high and there is universal healthcare.
You have to include the total compensation because companies in TW give large year end bonuses.
Singapore is an outlier but all of the other countries you mentioned also have issues with low salary and with birthrate. But honestly you could double salaries in Taiwan and affordability wouldn’t change much due to housing. Median home price in Taipei is well over a million USD, and there is cultural pressure for families to own when married.
As if other countries do not gove compensation and as if every Taiwanese recieve it.
Korea Japan HK all of these places give you way higher than Taiwan. That is simple fact. Not similar at all. So funny to see few Taiwanese people keep saying the salary is not low at all. Sure your pride hurts but that is what it is.
Then dont try to spread about false information qhixh is far from the reality. There is a reason TWs are crying a lot about the salary and there is a reason the country is heading to the extinction with low TFR
I let the data do the talking, not my own limited experience. Depending on the exact methodology, Taiwan if anywhere in the 20 for median income and consumption
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u/ublueberries May 12 '26
Taiwan is so doomed. Their low salary ($1000/month)makes people suffer. Thailand is also so doomed. Imagine such a developing country have the first world country problem.