China is one of world’s most expensive places to raise children, report finds

By Jessie Yeung, CNN

Published 12:47 AM EST, Thu February 22, 2024

Hong KongCNN —

China is one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child in relative terms, a new report says, with the disproportionate impact on women driving the country’s precipitously low fertility rate as it grapples with a demographic crisis.

The study, released Wednesday by the China-based YuWa Population Research Institute, found the average nationwide cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 was about $74,800 – rising to more than $94,500 to support a child through a bachelor’s degree.

The cost of raising a child to age 18 in China is 6.3 times higher than the country’s GDP per capita, the report said – a ratio second only to its East Asian neighbor South Korea, which has the world’s lowest fertility rate, and where the cost of child-rearing is 7.79 times GDP per capita.

For comparison, the report said that cost is just 2.08 times the GDP per capita in Australia, 2.24 times in France, 4.11 times in the United States, and 4.26 times in Japan – another East Asian country that has long struggled with a rapidly aging population and declining birth rate.

“Due to reasons such as the high cost of childbearing and the difficulty for women to balance family and work, the Chinese people’s willingness to have children is almost the lowest in the world,” the report said. “It is no exaggeration to describe the current population situation as a collapse in the birth population.”

China’s population has shrunk for the past two years, with 2023 marking the lowest birth rate since the founding of Communist China in 1949. Last year, China was surpassed by India as the world’s most populous country.

The demographic crisis threatens significant impact for the world’s second-largest economy – and has deepened in recent years despite authorities’ efforts to reverse the trend following decades of restrictive birth policies.

Even though the government has relaxed its limit on the number of children allowed per couple, launched national campaigns encouraging families to have more children, and offered financial sweeteners, little has changed – partially because for many women, the sacrifice just isn’t worth the payoff, the YuWa report said.

Women taking maternity leave may face “unfair treatment” at work such as being transferred to other teams, taking a pay cut, or missing out on promotion opportunities, the report said.

It added that if the costs of maternity leave are entirely borne by companies without government assistance, employers may avoid recruiting women of childbearing age – something that is already widely seen in China, with reports of women being asked about family planning during job interviews, or being passed over for roles even if they don’t plan to have children.

And while some women stop working entirely while raising their children, it makes returning to the workforce incredibly difficult. Women who have children may see a 12% to 17% drop in their wages, the report said, citing research from multiple papers.

These sacrifices may have been more commonplace in past decades – but Chinese women are more educated and economically independent than ever, and now outnumber men in higher education programs. With so many gains made in recent years, women are increasingly prioritizing their careers and self-development over traditional mileposts like marriage and childbirth, experts have previously said.

Then there are the costs in time, labor and money for raising a child.

Research shows women in China are primarily responsible for household tasks such as cooking, cleaning and shopping – as well as child care, including the school run, help with homework and tutoring.

Citing a 2018 paper, the report said this means women lose nearly five hours daily of leisure and paid work time – with almost all those hours devoted to housework instead. While fathers lose some leisure time too, their paid work hours don’t change significantly – and their careers aren’t significantly impacted, the YuWa report said.

“Because the current social environment in China is not conducive to women’s childbirth, the time cost and opportunity cost for women to have children are too high,” the report said. “Some women have to give up having children in exchange for the opportunity to succeed in their careers.”

China’s economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly better than an official target set by Beijing. But the country is facing a myriad of challenges, including a record property downturn, surging youth unemployment, deflationary pressure, rising corporate defaults and mounting financial stress at local governments.

The report warned that the falling birthrate could deeply impact economic growth, people’s overall happiness and China’s global standing.

The authors urged national policies to reduce the cost of childbirth “as soon as possible” – such as cash, tax and housing subsidies, equal maternity and paternity leave, protecting the reproductive rights of single women, and educational reform.

China is one of world’s most expensive places to raise children, report finds

报告发现，中国是世界上抚养孩子最贵的地方之一

China is one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child in relative terms, a new report says, with the disproportionate impact on women driving the country’s precipitously low fertility rate as it grapples with a demographic crisis.

一份新的报告称，相对而言，中国是世界上抚养孩子成本最高的地方之一，在应对人口危机的过程中，对女性的过度影响导致了生育率的急剧下降。

The study, released Wednesday by the China-based YuWa Population Research Institute, found the average nationwide cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 was about $74,800 – rising to more than $94,500 to support a child through a bachelor’s degree.

这项由中国YuWa人口研究所周三发布的研究发现，从出生到17岁，全国抚养孩子的平均成本约为7.48万美元，而抚养孩子读完学士学位的成本在9.45万美元以上。

The cost of raising a child to age 18 in China is 6.3 times higher than the country’s GDP per capita, the report said – a ratio second only to its East Asian neighbor South Korea, which has the world’s lowest fertility rate, and where the cost of child-rearing is 7.79 times GDP per capita.

报告称，在中国将一个孩子抚养到18岁的成本是该国人均GDP的6.3倍，这一比例仅次于其东亚邻国韩国，韩国是世界上生育率最低的国家，抚养孩子的成本是人均GDP的7.79倍。

For comparison, the report said that cost is just 2.08 times the GDP per capita in Australia, 2.24 times in France, 4.11 times in the United States, and 4.26 times in Japan – another East Asian country that has long struggled with a rapidly aging population and declining birth rate.

相比之下，该报告称，澳大利亚这一成本仅仅为人均GDP的2.08倍，法国为2.24倍，美国为4.11倍，日本为4.26倍，日本是另一个长期与人口快速老龄化和出生率下降作斗争的东亚国家。

“Due to reasons such as the high cost of childbearing and the difficulty for women to balance family and work, the Chinese people’s willingness to have children is almost the lowest in the world,” the report said. “It is no exaggeration to describe the current population situation as a collapse in the birth population.”

“由于生育成本高以及女性难以平衡家庭和工作等原因，中国人的生育意愿几乎是世界上最低的”，该报告说道，“可以毫不夸张地将当前的人口状况描述为出生人口的断崖式下跌”。

China’s population has shrunk for the past two years, with 2023 marking the lowest birth rate since the founding of Communist China in 1949. Last year, China was surpassed by India as the world’s most populous country.

中国的人口在过去两年出现了下跌，2023年的出生率是1949年以来的最低值。去年印度超过了中国成为世界上人口最多的国家。

The demographic crisis threatens significant impact for the world’s second-largest economy – and has deepened in recent years despite authorities’ efforts to reverse the trend following decades of restrictive birth policies.

人口危机对这个世界第二大经济体影响重大，尽管authorities在几十年的限制性生育政策后努力扭转这一趋势，但近年来这一危机仍在加剧。

Even though the government has relaxed its limit on the number of children allowed per couple, launched national campaigns encouraging families to have more children, and offered financial sweeteners, little has changed – partially because for many women, the sacrifice just isn’t worth the payoff, the YuWa report said.

尽管放宽了对每对夫妇允许生育孩子数量的限制，同时发起了全国性的运动，鼓励家庭多生孩子，并提供了经济上的好处，但并没有多大变化——部分原因是对许多女性来说，这种牺牲不值得，YuWa的报告称。

Women taking maternity leave may face “unfair treatment” at work such as being transferred to other teams, taking a pay cut, or missing out on promotion opportunities, the report said.

休产假的女性在工作中可能面临“不公平待遇”，如被调到其他团队、减薪或错过晋升机会，该报告提到。

It added that if the costs of maternity leave are entirely borne by companies without government assistance, employers may avoid recruiting women of childbearing age – something that is already widely seen in China, with reports of women being asked about family planning during job interviews, or being passed over for roles even if they don’t plan to have children.

报告还提到，如果产假的费用完全由公司承担，雇主可能不会去招聘生育年龄段的妇女——这在中国已经很普遍了，有报道称，女性在面试时被问及生小孩问题，或者即使不打算生孩子，也会被排挤。

And while some women stop working entirely while raising their children, it makes returning to the workforce incredibly difficult. Women who have children may see a 12% to 17% drop in their wages, the report said, citing research from multiple papers.

同时一些女性在抚养孩子的完全停止了工作，但这让她们重返职场变得异常困难。该报告援引多篇论文的研究称，有孩子的女性的工资可能会下降12%至17%。

These sacrifices may have been more commonplace in past decades – but Chinese women are more educated and economically independent than ever, and now outnumber men in higher education programs. With so many gains made in recent years, women are increasingly prioritizing their careers and self-development over traditional mileposts like marriage and childbirth, experts have previously said.

在过去的几十年里，这些牺牲可能更为常见，但中国现在的女性受教育程度高，经济独立，在高等教育项目中的人数超过了男性。专家此前曾表示，近年来取得了如此多的成就，女性开始将自己的职业和自我发展置于婚姻和分娩等传统节点之上。

Then there are the costs in time, labor and money for raising a child.

还有抚养孩子的时间、劳动力和金钱成本。

Research shows women in China are primarily responsible for household tasks such as cooking, cleaning and shopping – as well as child care, including the school run, help with homework and tutoring.

研究表明，中国女性主要负责做饭、打扫卫生和购物等家务，以及照顾孩子，包括学校的事情、家庭作业辅导。

Citing a 2018 paper, the report said this means women lose nearly five hours daily of leisure and paid work time – with almost all those hours devoted to housework instead. While fathers lose some leisure time too, their paid work hours don’t change significantly – and their careers aren’t significantly impacted, the YuWa report said.

该报告援引2018年的一篇论文称，这意味着女性每天失去近五个小时的休闲和带薪工作时间，而这些时间几乎全部用于家务劳动。虽然父亲们也失去了一些休闲时间，但他们的带薪工作时间没有显著变化，他们的职业生涯也没有受到显著影响，YuWa的报告提到。

“Because the current social environment in China is not conducive to women’s childbirth, the time cost and opportunity cost for women to have children are too high,” the report said. “Some women have to give up having children in exchange for the opportunity to succeed in their careers.”

“由于目前的社会环境不利于妇女生育，妇女生育孩子的时间成本和机会成本太高”，该报告提到，“一些女性不得不放弃生育，以换取在事业上取得成功的机会”。

China’s economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly better than an official target set by Beijing. But the country is facing a myriad of challenges, including a record property downturn, surging youth unemployment, deflationary pressure, rising corporate defaults and mounting financial stress at local governments.

没翻译，看不懂多读几遍就能看懂

The report warned that the falling birthrate could deeply impact economic growth, people’s overall happiness and China’s global standing.

报告警告说，出生率的下降可能会对经济增长、人民的整体幸福感和中国的全球地位产生深远影响。

The authors urged national policies to reduce the cost of childbirth “as soon as possible” – such as cash, tax and housing subsidies, equal maternity and paternity leave, protecting the reproductive rights of single women, and educational reform.

作者敦促“尽快”出台政策降低生育成本，如现金、税收和住房补贴、平等产假和陪产假、保护单身妇女的生殖权利以及教育reform。