South Korea's fertility rate, which already is the world's lowest, dropped again in 2023.
韩国的生育率已经是全球最低，但在2023年却再次下降。
This means that the number of babies a South Korean woman is expected to have during her reproductive years dropped from 0.78 in 2022 to 0.72 in 2023.
这意味着，韩国女性在生育期预计生育的婴儿数量从2022年的0.78下降到2023年的0.72。
Concerns about missing out on long-term jobs and the cost of raising a child are reasons given for the low rate.
人们担心失去长期工作和抚养孩子的成本是造成低生育率的原因。
The fertility number is much lower than the rate of 2.1 per woman that would be needed to keep South Korea's population stable.
韩国的生育率远低于保持人口稳定所需的每名女性生育2.1人。
In 2015, when the cost of housing and education were lower, the rate was 1.24. That means South Korea's population has been shrinking for a long time.
2015年，当住房和教育成本较低时，该比率为1.24。这意味着韩国的人口在很长一段时间内一直在减少。
The South Korean government is trying to encourage men and women to start families. Since 2018, the nation has been the only member of a group of large economies to have a rate below one. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) includes a wide group of nations such as Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand as well as Mexico and Chile.
韩国政府正在努力鼓励男性和女性组建家庭。自2018年以来，韩国一直是某大型经济体组织中唯一生育率低于1的成员国。经济合作与发展组织包括英国、美国、澳大利亚、新西兰以及墨西哥和智利等众多国家。
Among OECD nations, South Korea has the largest difference in pay between men and women. Balancing motherhood with a job is a concern for South Korean women.
在经合组织国家中，韩国的男女薪酬差距最大。平衡母亲身份和工作是韩国女性关注的问题。
Jung Jae-hoon is a professor at Seoul Women's University. Jung noted that women have trouble moving their careers forward after taking leave to care for children.
郑在勋是首尔女子大学的教授。郑指出，女性在请假照顾孩子后，很难推进自己的事业。
An example of this is Gwak Tae-hee who is 34. She is concerned about missing career opportunities if she stops working to start a family. She has been married for three years and works as a manager for a company that makes milk products.
34岁的郭泰希就是一个例子。她担心如果自己停止工作去生头胎，会失去职业机会。她结婚三年了，在一家生产乳制品的公司担任经理。
"Having a baby is on my list, but there's windows for promotions and I don't want to be passed over," she said.
她说：“生孩子一直在我的考虑当中，但目前有晋升的机会，我不想被忽略。”
Gwak said she considered starting medical treatments last year that would help her have a child. However, she decided against it because she wanted to take on work projects that would help her career.
郭说，她去年考虑开始接受有助于受孕的治疗。然而，她决定放弃这样做，因为她想从事有助于她的职业生涯的工作项目。
"I hope it's not too late when I try next year or the year after," Gwak said.
郭说：“我希望明年或后年尝试时不会太晚。”
If the birth rate continues to drop, South Korea's population of about 51 million will be cut in half by 2100.
如果出生率继续下降，到2100年，韩国约5100万人口将减少一半。
In Seoul, the largest city and capital, the fertility rate is only 0.55.
在韩国最大城市和首都首尔，生育率只有0.55。
The nation has an election in April, and politicians have been offering ideas to make it easier for young adults to consider having children. The ideas include more housing and financial support for people thinking of having a family.
韩国将于4月举行大选，政客们一直在提出让年轻人更容易考虑生孩子的想法。这些想法包括为头胎家庭提供更多的住房和经济支持。
An official at Statistics Korea said there are some people who are a couple but do not get married. In South Korea, many people see marriage as a requirement to have children, so that reduces the number of babies. But the official told Reuters that right now the group is centering its work on trying to help married people feel better about starting families.
韩国统计局的一位官员说，有些人是情侣，但没有结婚。在韩国，许多人将结婚就要生孩子，所以这样做减少了婴儿的数量。但这位官员告诉路透社，目前该组织的工作重点是帮助已婚人士对生头胎感觉更踏实。
Politicians are worried that additional social spending has not encouraged more families. Since 2006, the government has spent about $270 billion in areas such as helping families pay for childcare, but the fertility numbers are still falling.
政客们担心，额外的社会支出并不能鼓励更多的家庭。自2006年以来，政府在帮助家庭支付育儿费用等领域花费了约2700亿美元，但生育率仍在下降。
South Korea, however, is not the only nation concerned about falling birth rates. China and Japan also recorded all-time low rates in 2022.
然而，韩国并不是唯一一个担心出生率下降的国家。2022年，中国和日本的生育率也创下历史新低。
I'm Dan Friedell.
我是丹·弗里德尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)