Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom, wedged between India and China, is currently grappling with a rapidly declining birthrate and growing exodus of young people seeking opportunities abroad, according to a news story published by The Asian Age.
The Bhutanese government now offers families cash incentives to have more children as the tiny Himalayan kingdom battles 'existential' population crisis. Annual births have dropped by more than a quarter over the past decade. The problem has been compounded by the country's loss of youngsters to migration.
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has repeatedly spoken about the population slump, calling it an "existential" crisis. The government also launched in June this year, its ambitious programme, “The Third Child” to arrest the country’s declining population and give it a boost.
The scheme provides monthly payments of $105 for each third or subsequent child until they turn three. Several people, however, have said that cash payments alone may not be able to persuade families to have more children. The cost of raising children, housing, and childcare remain substantially high. Births of third child or more children, have fallen 27% since 2020, according to a government report. The landlocked kingdom has a population of less than 800,000 people.
Bhutan's fertility rate has fallen to about 1.8 children per woman, below the replacement level. The share of people aged 65 and over is projected to rise from around 6% to 17% by 2050, according to UN estimates.
Prime Minister Mr Tobgay said, “These figures represent real and compounding pressures on Bhutan's workforce, fiscal sustainability, and the social fabric of communities across the country."
The government fears that falling births, combined with sustained outward migration, will leave too few working-age people to support the economy and an ageing population.