Will there be just six grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans?
We look at the numbers around South Korea’s birth rate and the reasons why it’s so low.
An article on the UK’s Telegraph newspaper website claimed that there would be just 6 grandchildren for every 100 South Koreans today. We ask whether that figure is correct and look at why South Korea’s birth rate has fallen to one of the lowest in the world, with the help of author and mathematician Rob Eastaway and journalist and author Hawon Jung.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producers: Bethan Ashmead Latham, Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: James Beard
(Children wearing traditional costume wave national flags during a celebration in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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- Sat 1 Jul 2023 04:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Sat 1 Jul 2023 10:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
- Sun 2 Jul 2023 08:50GMTBBC World Service West and Central Africa
- Sun 2 Jul 2023 10:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Sun 2 Jul 2023 22:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 2 Jul 2023 23:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa & BBC Afghan Radio
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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life
