The Beijing YuWa Demographic Research Institute published a report in which scientists announced which countries in the world require the most spending on children.
China topped the ranking. It is reported that the average cost per child under 18 in China reaches 538 thousand yuan, 6.3 times more than per capita GDP. For comparison: in the United States this figure is 4.11, and in Japan — 4.26. The “cost of children” in Australia is 2.08 times the average GDP per capita.
China trails only South Korea, which has the lowest birth rate in the world.
The study took into account not only the costs directly for the child but also hypothetical financial losses, which mothers mainly bear. They usually take care of children and home while sacrificing their career and income.
It is noted that from 2010 to 2018, parents in China began to spend more time helping elementary school students with homework. If at the beginning of the 2010s, they devoted 3.67 hours a week to this, then by the end of the decade — 5.88 hours.