Bhutan Offers Monthly Cash to Boost Third Child Births
Bhutan is offering monthly cash payments of $105 per child to couples who have a third or subsequent child, as the Himalayan nation battles a 25 percent birthrate decline over the past decade and rapid youth emigration.
Bhutan's government is launching an incentive program to encourage couples to have more children as the Himalayan kingdom faces a rapidly declining birthrate and increasing emigration of young people seeking opportunities abroad. According to a Straits Times report from July 12, the annual birthrate has dropped by more than 25 percent over the past decade.
Prime Minister Dasho Cheering Tobgay has repeatedly warned about the population crisis, calling it an existential threat, and introduced the "Third Child Plus" program in June.
The scheme provides monthly financial assistance of $105 (approximately 3,495 baht) for a third child or subsequent children until age three.
With fewer than 800,000 residents and a 27 percent population decline since 2020, Bhutan's fertility rate has fallen to approximately 1.8 children per woman—below replacement level—while the proportion of elderly residents aged 65 and above is projected to increase from roughly 6 percent to 17 percent by 2049, according to United Nations projections.
