The NIEs – which comprise Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan – experienced a rapid decline in the ratio of the young population to the total population due to a decreasing fertility rate in the 1970s. The group also includes China and Thailand.
Hong Kong entered the demographic dividend period by 1965; South Korea and Singapore followed by 1970, Thailand by 1975, and Taiwan and China by 1980. 5 Hong Kong and South Korea will exit the demographic dividend period and enter the demographic burden period during 2010–15 (charts 5 and 6). China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand are likely to exit the demographic dividend period by 2015.