Here’s why 68% of non-parents in APAC region don’t want children

More and more people in the Asia-pacific region have decided not to have children. Most young people have become increasingly skeptical about parenthood. According to a recent report by McCann Worldgroup’s global intelligence unit, Truth Central, around 68% of non-parents in the APAC region do not want children. What is the reason behind this decision? Why are many adults in the APAC region child-free? 

McCann Worldgroup’s global intelligence unit, Truth Central, conducted the study to understand the plight of young men and women. 

Reportedly, one in three people in the APAC region do not want to have children. In Japan, 50% of people said they do not want children. In Hong Kong, 44% of people said they had no intention of becoming parents. In Singapore and Thailand, 42% of people said they don’t plan to have children. 

According to the research, the pressure to be the “perfect” parents is the primary reason why many adults are child-free. They reportedly do not want to make bad decisions. 

Earlier this year, reports emerged that most people in China do not want kids. Experts said that many Chinese people do not want children because of the high cost of living. In Hong Kong, middle-class families do not want children. Many families said that they cannot afford children amid the high cost of living. 

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What did parents in the APAC region say?

Around 53% of parents in the APAC region said that they do not want other people to judge their parenting skills. They fear that other parents might be better than them. Around 50% of responders said that they worry that other parents they meet might be better at parenting than them. 

Shilpa Sinha, the chief strategy officer at McCann Worldgroup APAC, said that people in the APAC region do value the importance of parenthood. Shilpa Sinha said that 65% of responders of the survey believe that everyone has a responsibility to have children. Around 85% of responders said that being a parent was important for them. However, 68% of non-parents do not want to have children because of economic problems, mounting societal pressures and unattainable expectations on parenthood. 

Other findings of the report suggested that 60% of parents in the APAC region want their children to be famous. Around 81% of people in India, 78% of people in China, and 71% of people in Thailand want their children to be famous.