In a sharp contrast to the 2.0 percent annual growth in 1960-1985, the population grew by 0.9 percent in 1985-2000. The fertility rate stopped falling and stayed at 1.4-1.7 children per woman. In 2000-2009, however, the fertility rate plunged again to 1.1-1.2 and the population growth rate fell to 0.4 percent.
With the birth rate below the population replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, the government’s population control policy was destined to end. Regulations and incentives to discourage births were largely abolished. The government officially ended its population control policy in 1996. In a complete reversal from the earlier policies, it began to actively promote births in the 2000s.
Source : SaKong, Il and Koh, Youngsun, 2010. The Korean Economy Six Decades of Growth and Development. Seoul: Korea Development Institute.
