Survey Shows Korean-Americans Have More Children

A recent survey found that Korean-Americans tend to have more children than their fellow countrymen in Korea.

Korea is currently grappling with a declining birth rate.

‘The Birth Rate of Immigrants in the U.S.’, a report released by the U.S. Immigration Research Center recently, showed that the birth rate of female Korean-Americans was 1.57 in 2002, 28 percent higher than the birth rate in Korea (1.23).

This trend is shared by immigrants from other countries, as well. The birth rate of Mexican women in the U.S. is 3.51, while that of Mexicans in their home country stands at 2.40.

The birth rate of China is meager 1.70, while Chinese-Americans give birth to an average of 2.26 children per family. The British birth rate is 1.66, but Britons have an average of 2.84 children in the U.S.

All in all, the average birth rate of the 10 largest immigrant groups in the U.S. is 2.86, 23 percent higher than that of their home countries (2.32).

However, the birth rate of Indians in their home country is 3.07, higher than that of Indian immigrants in the U.S. (2.23). The immigration research center explains that it is because the Indian immigrants are better educated than their average countrymen. If they were equally educated, the Indian Americans’ birth rate would be much higher.

However, in the case of Korea, the level of education is not an important factor.

The immigration research center said the Korean immigrant birth rate is higher because they become better-off and more optimistic about the future in the U.S., and often are eligible for the government subsidies offered to low-income families with children.

The U.S. is envied as a young country with an unusually high birth rate by other industrialized countries.

Jong sik Kong kong@donga.com