Editing Demographics of South Korea (section)

===Fertility===
{{Main|Low birth rate in South Korea}}
[[File:South Korea Population 1950-2021 Forecast 2022-2032 UN World Population Prospects 2022.svg|thumb|350px|[[Population]], [[fertility rate]] and [[net reproduction rate]], United Nations estimates]]

In the past 20 years, South Korea has recorded some of the lowest fertility and marriage levels in the world. As of 2020, it is the country with the world's lowest total fertility rate—0.84. [[Seoul]] has a TFR of 0.64, probably the lowest level anywhere in the world.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Low birth rates have discouraged South Korean doctors from entering [[pediatrics]] out of the fear that the field has no future. Due to how [[Healthcare in South Korea|medical insurance]] is structured in South Korea, pediatric care relies especially on volume to compensate for its low reimbursement rates. The number of pediatric facilities in Seoul fell by 12.5 percent between 2018 and 2022, compared to an increase of 76.8 percent for psychiatry clinics and a 41.2 percent rise for anesthesiology centers. Conditions such as overcrowded waiting rooms and a shortage of hospital beds have led to the death of at least one child. The difficulty in obtaining pediatric care is causing many South Korean couples to reconsider having babies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Korean doctors flee paediatrics as low birth rate bites |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/south-korean-doctors-flee-paediatrics-low-birth-rate-bites-3609431 |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=CNA |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129221704/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/south-korean-doctors-flee-paediatrics-low-birth-rate-bites-3609431 |url-status=dead }}</ref>