Lucky in love:

Authorities in Xi'an will spend 700,000 yuan (HK$774,000) on lottery tickets to give as prizes to newlyweds who present a marriage certificate in an effort to encourage weddings at a time of fewer births.

China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, with new births dropping to about half those in 2016, while marriages hit a record low in 2022.

With marriage rates closely tied to birth rates as unmarried mothers are often denied child-raising benefits, Xian promised a lottery ticket to any couple presenting a marriage certificate from March 1 as "a double surprise."

The campaign will run until November 30.

"This is not only the beginning of a happy life after receiving the marriage certificate but also more likely to get a small gift," the city's civil affairs bureau said.

China is one of the world's most expensive places to bring up a child relative to its GDP per capita, a prominent Chinese think tank said in February as it detailed the time and opportunity cost for women who give birth.

Fewer women are opting to have children, put off by the high cost of childcare or an unwillingness to marry or put their careers on hold.

Meanwhile, South Korea's fertility rate, already the world's lowest, continued its dramatic decline in 2023 as women concerned about their career advancement and the financial cost of raising children decided to delay childbirth or to not have babies.

The average number of expected babies for a South Korean woman during her reproductive life fell to a record low of 0.72 from 0.78 in 2022, data from Statistics Korea showed yesterday.

That is far below the rate of 2.1 per woman needed for a steady population and well behind the rate of 1.24 in 2015 when concerns about issues such as the cost of housing and education were lower.

Since 2018, South Korea has been the only Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member with a rate below one, defying the billions of dollars spent by the country to try to reverse the trend that led the population to decline for a fourth straight year in 2023.

South Korea also has the worst gender pay gap in the OECD, as women bring home about two-thirds of the income of men.

"Women typically can't build on their experience to climb higher at workplaces because they are often the only one doing the childcare and often need to rejoin the workforce after extended leave," said Jung Jae-hoon, a professor at Seoul Women's University.

Gwak Tae-hee, 34, a junior manager at a Korean dairy product maker who has been married for three years, said: "Having a baby is on my list, but there are windows for promotions and I don't want to be passed over."

Gwak had considered starting in vitro fertilization treatment last year to try to have a baby but ended up volunteering for work projects to improve her career prospects. "Working two or three days a week doesn't get you anywhere in Korean companies. I hope it's not too late when I try next year or the year after."

South Korea's demographic crisis has become the top risk to economic growth and the social welfare system, with the country's population of 51 million on track to halve by the end of this century.

South Korea is not alone in the region struggling with a rapidly aging population.

Neighboring Japan said on Tuesday the number of babies born in 2023 fell for an eighth straight year to a fresh record low, with the country recording more than twice as many deaths as new babies, according to government data.

In 2023, 489,281 marriages were registered, down 5.9 percent from the previous year and the first time they were under half a million.

Births in 2023 fell for the eighth consecutive year, to 758,631, a drop of 5.1 percent.

The number of deaths, at 1,590,503, was more than double that figure, meaning the overall population declined by 831,872.

The numbers highlight the dramatic demographic challenges facing the world's fourth-biggest economy, including worker shortages and providing healthcare for the one in 10 people now over 80 years old.

Agencies