Figures out this week show a continuing trend that is troubling several countries in Asia. It's related to a sustained drop in a key demographic — birth rates.
It's not everywhere, but in several large countries, the birth rate continues to fall.
On Wednesday, the government announced the national fertility rate in South Korea hit an all-time low last year, to 0.72 children per woman.
For a population to remain stable, that rate needs to be at least 2.1.
And countries from India to China remain below that so-called replacement rate.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, the regional birthrate for Asia and the Pacific is 1.9. These numbers have economic implications that stretch across oceans.
Government statisticians say if South Korea's trend continues at its current rate, the country's working population will be cut by half in 50 years.
This week Singapore announced its lowest fertility rate ever at 0.97.
Japan's birth rate is 1.3 and Australia's is 1.6.
As a point of comparison, the birthrate in the United States is 1.7.
So where in the world is the birth rate higher? A total of 19 of the top 20 fertility rates in the world are in Africa.
