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It is also a place with a population of more than 100 million. Japan only had 340,000 newborns in the first half of the year, but what about Guangdong? You may also be surprised when this number is said.
It is said that there is strength in numbers, but how did Japan, a former economic miracle, completely lay flat when it came to having children? Why do some places give birth to babies like jiaozi, while others are deserted when the economic conditions are similar?
Japan's fertility rate, which is really a year-over-year slump, the first half of this year's data came out, 33,928 million, even 34,000 newborns are less.
A country with a population of one billion people only gives birth to such puppies for six months, with an average of less than 2,000 babies per day.
Moreover, this is the fourth consecutive year that Japan has fallen below the 400,000 mark. At this rate, primary schools in Japan may have to be converted into nursing homes in batches.
Walking the streets of Tokyo, you will find that there are more grandparents in the shopping malls than young people who shop, and even taxi drivers are basically white-haired.
It stands to reason that Japan is so developed that the elderly should enjoy happiness, but the reality is that the pension is simply not enough, and the government has adjusted the receiving age to 75.
Although you can start receiving it at the age of 65, if you get it in advance, the money you get every month is pitiful. According to the current prices in Japan, it is difficult to even eat a decent lunch box every day.
So the old people who are still working in Japan's streets, the old people are really forced by life, the young people look at the old people so hard, they can't afford, where do they dare to have children?
This is like an infinite loop. The elderly have a heavy social burden, and the young people are even more afraid to give birth when they are under great pressure. If they don't give birth, there will be more elderly people in the future and the burden will be heavier.
The real situation of Japanese young people, an ordinary working class, from 1995 to 2020, the annual income of the family fell from 6.59 million yen to 5.64 million yen, almost one million less.
In Japan, the cost of having a child is also high, but the Japanese government is quite "big", giving a child a subsidy of 500,000 yen, but only in the hospital to have a child, on average will cost 47.3 thousand.
Not to mention raising children in Japan, which is really one of the best money burners in the world. From birth to school, every step is money. Kindergartens cost tens of thousands of yen a month, and cram schools are sky-high. A piano lesson can pay ordinary people a day's salary.
This is only an economic account, the cultural problem is bigger, in Japanese society, having children is basically a mother's business, and fathers work overtime until late at night, and the children go home to sleep.
The government is encouraging fathers to leave for maternity leave, but the data for 2021 showed that even 14% of the real leave is not enough, even if they are off, a quarter of people are back to work in less than 5 days, because the company, although it is supported by the mouth, but it feels that you are not working.
In this environment, women are more miserable, either giving up their careers at home with babies, or giving up their babies to focus on work, both of their beauty do not think about.
Therefore, Japan's low fertility rate can't be explained by one or two reasons. Economic pressure, heavy burden of old-age care, rigid workplace culture and unequal gender division of labor are entangled together, forming an insoluble knot.
The number of births in our Guangdong province will definitely surprise you.
Guangzhou's fertility data is enough for 11.3 million!In 2024, a full year, Guangzhou gave birth to 11.3 million puppies.
Japan has 340,000 in half a year, which is about 600,000 in a year. Guangdong, a province, has more than 500,000 more babies than Japan as a whole, and the population of both sides is more than 100 million. This gap is too wide.
And it is already Guangdong 7 consecutive years to take the national fertility championship, it is not a coincidence, it is the first of the year, people have been born for 40 consecutive years to break the million.
From the beginning of reform and opening up to the present day, Guangdong has not fallen the chain for a year, other provinces to encourage reproduction to break the heart, Guangdong has been stable when it was not less than a million, the country's unique, no second province can do it.
Why Guangdong is so livable, the first reason is that there are too many young people, a permanent population of 1.28 billion, but there are actually 1.5 million people in Guangdong, which is more than 20 million, basically young people who come to work in the field.
The working age population aged 16 to 59 accounts for 66.38%, more than 5 percentage points higher than the national average, and the average age of Shenzhen people is only 33 years old, which in Japan can be middle-aged, in Shenzhen is still young.
In 2024, Guangdong will have a new permanent population of 740,000, of which more than 60% are from other provinces, because there are many opportunities here and they can make money.
And among Guangdong newborns, almost 40% come from foreign workers' families, these young people who have left the countryside and come to Guangdong to work, not only work here, but also make a home and give birth to children.
Guangdong does not mean that gold is everywhere, but there are real opportunities here. In 2024, the GDP will be 14.16 trillion yuan. The economic aggregate of Guangdong alone is comparable to that of several medium-sized countries.
Moreover, such a large economy only uses less than 2% of the country's land and 9% of the population. The efficiency is so high that there is no second one in the country.
If the economy is good, people will have money in their pockets. Data in the first half of 2025 show that the per capita disposable income of Guangdong residents is 28,343 yuan.
It is very common for ordinary migrant workers to earn 7,000 to 8,000 yuan a month in Guangdong. If both couples work, the family's monthly income of 15,000 to 6,000 yuan will not be a problem. At this income level, one or two children can still be afforded.
These cities, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan, have provided millions of jobs, from factory flow lines to office buildings, from express messengers to programmers, all industries are hiring people.
As long as you can do it, in Guangdong will not worry not to work, this employment environment, gives young people a great sense of security, work is stable, income is guaranteed, the birth of children naturally enough.
Once this virtuous circle is formed, it will turn faster and faster. People come to consume, consumption creates jobs, and employment attracts more people. It is by this circle that Guangdong has turned its population advantage into a driving force for development.
Of course, Guangzhou can have today's achievements, not all are economic merits, and the cultural atmosphere and policy environment here have played a great role.
Especially in the Shandong region, that kind of family concept is simply engraved in the DNA, in the local temple, the genus has laid a whole wall, from the morning to the present, each generation is clear.
Their marriage and childbirth are not only personal affairs, but also big family affairs, the oldest generations most often say that people are prosperous, who has more children, who has a face.
There are a lot of family in Shandong, and those who do business want someone to succeed, this traditional concept, not only has not disappeared in modern society, but has found a new way of survival.
The policy supports this, Guangdong is also under the real talent, marriage registration across the provinces, Guangdong is the first to get involved, before foreigners want to get married, have to ask for a vacation back home, come back for half a month, now in Guangdong can do, save how many things.
Do not underestimate these 15 days, for the worker, this is a half-month salary, saving time and travel costs, enough to buy the milk powder for the children.
Chang'an Town, Dongguan is even more generous, with a direct award of 20,000 yuan for giving birth to the second child, a monthly supplement of 300 yuan, and a monthly subsidy of 50,000 yuan for giving birth to the third child plus a monthly subsidy of 500 yuan. This is all real money, not painting cakes to satisfy hunger.
If you have three children, you can get 100,000 yuan from the government subsidy alone. Although it can't fully cover the cost of raising children, it at least shows your attitude. The government supports you to have children and gives money to encourage you to have children.
In recent years, hundreds of thousands of public degrees have been added in Shenzhen, so there is no need to worry about children going to school. Schools that used to be crowded and couldn't get into have now expanded their enrollment, parents' anxiety is less, and their willingness to give birth naturally comes up.
Guangzhou and Zhejiang's guardianship services have been done extremely well, there are guardianship points at the bottom of the district, and the work is passed in a smooth way, and the work is taken back in a smooth way, the children under the age of 3 are cared for, and the care of the family of two employees has solved most of the problems.
Of course, the Guangdong model is not perfect, high house prices, and tensions in educational resources are also present, but compared to other places, Guangdong has at least found a viable way.
Solving the fertility problem can't be solved by one or two policies. Houses should be cheaper, jobs should be more stable, children should be taken care of, and there is no need to worry about going to school. These conditions are indispensable.
The most important thing is to let young people see hope, if even their own future cannot be seen clearly, who dares to want children?The success of Guangdong lies in giving young people a relatively certain future, with work, income, development, children will not be born without a way out.
In this comparison, we can understand why the same 100 million people, Guangdong can break a million a year, but Japan is less innovative every year, after all, the birth of children does not rely on screaming slogans, but real life guarantee.
Having children is actually an investment in the future, when life has a head, who does not want to continue this good thing, when it is hard to live, who has the mind to think about the next generation?
Behind these figures is people's hearts, and behind people's hearts is life. Let young people live with dignity and hope, and children will naturally come. This truth is the same everywhere.