China News Agency, Beijing, September 24 (Zhang Wenhui) Norwegian Ambassador to China Besina said at a forum in Beijing recently that Norway faces the pressure of population aging much earlier than China, and the fertility rate of Norwegian women of childbearing age has dropped to 1.48 in 2020. .
She said that the common challenge that Norway and China face is whether our families are willing to give birth and raise children in the future, and whether they are ready for aging.
Baisina made the above remarks when attending the 2021 China-Norway Social Policy Forum co-organized by the China (Hainan) Institute for Reform and Development and the Norwegian Urban Regional Institute in Beijing on the 23rd.
Bai Sina pointed out that the low fertility rate is actually inseparable from socio-economic factors.
The fertility rate of women is related to the ability to balance work and life, gender equality, including maternity leave, paternity leave, and the adequacy and affordability of day care services, education costs, and housing prices.
For example, Besina, Norway does not set a fixed retirement age, but adopts a flexible retirement and selective retirement program between the ages of 62 and 75 to encourage working people to continue to work after they reach 62.
This group of people can already receive a certain percentage of pensions while working.
Such a reform is based on family support, and the elderly can continue to participate in work.
"Although there are huge differences in national conditions between Norway and China, they cannot simply copy and paste their experiences, but they can still learn wisdom from each other." Baisina said.
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