The small Himalayan country of Bhutan is offering families cash incentives to have more children, to tackle a population crisis amid a rapidly falling birth rate and a tendency for young people to head abroad in search of better opportunities.
Over the past decade the country’s annual birth rate has fallen by more than a quarter. Over the same period, the tendency for young people to leave the country for abroad has also increased.
The state broadcaster Bhutan Broadcasting Service said the prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, had repeatedly described the population decline as an “existential crisis.” The government launched the “Third Child Plus” program last June.
In an introduction to the program, Tobgay wrote: “The evidence is clear that the fertility rate in Bhutan has now fallen to near or below the level needed to sustain the population.” Under the program, US$105 a month will be paid for each third or subsequent child until the age of three.
Khandu Wangmo, a 35-year-old government official, welcomed the initiative but questioned whether cash alone would be enough to encourage families to have more children.
“This is a good initiative, because it will encourage families to have three or more children,” she said. But, Khandu Wangmo added, “if the costs of raising children, housing and childcare are high, cash alone will not have much impact.” The landlocked country, located between India and China, has a population of fewer than 800,000, so the issue carries particular importance for it.
According to United Nations figures, Bhutan’s fertility rate has fallen to about 1.8 children per woman, below the level needed to sustain the population. At the same time, the proportion of people aged 65 or over could rise from about 6 percent now to 17 percent by 2050.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report