Society at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2014 Publication

1. Willem Adema
Senior Economist, Social Policy Division, OECD
Tokyo, 31st October 2014
Sag Asia/Pacific 2014

2. SAG Asia/Pacific 2014 covers 37 countries

3. Among the adult population in Asia/Pacific men
are more likely to have a university degree

4. Among youngsters: Girls lag boys in
mathematics on average but score much
better in reading…
Source: OECD (2014), PISA 2012 database.
Difference in PISA score points (boys’ scores minus girls’ scores), 2012
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
Reading (↘) Science Mathematics

5. …and young women nowadays have higher
educational attainment than young men…
Source: OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014
Percentage of the population that has attained at least tertiary education by age, 2012
Women Men
10 Korea
9 Japan
8 Australia
7 New Zealand
6 United Kingdom
5 United States
4 France
3 OECD
2 Germany
1 Turkey
020406080100
%
0 20 40 60 80 100
%

6. …although men and women often
study different subjects

7. The gender gap in labour force participation
has fallen in most countries but still persists

8. Women are much more likely to work part-
time

9. Women are less likely to be in leadership
positions

10. Gender pay gaps remain high but have
decreased in many OECD countries over
the past 10 years…
Source: OECD (2014), OECD Gender data portal
Gender wage gap: the difference between male and female wages divided by male wages at the
median for different age groups

11. …and, gender pay gaps also declined in
many countries in the Asia/Pacific region

12. Compared with men, women are less
likely to be entrepreneurs…

13. Women spend much more time than men
in unpaid work in the Asia/Pacific region
Figure 2.10. Time spent on non-market/unpaid work in minutes per average day, by gender

14. Increased life expectancy and persistently low
fertility rates lead to population ageing and, in
some countries, a smaller working-age population
Source: OECD (2014), OECD Demography and Population database, OECD, Paris
Historic and projected number of persons, millions, 1950-2050 (vertical line denotes year 2012)

15. Encouraging more women to work can help
mitigate the looming decline of the labour
force in some countries
The labour force projections are based on population projections for persons aged 15-64 years, by 5-year age group.
1. Unchanged: Participation rates by gender and for each 5-year age group are held constant over the period 2013-2025 at their 2012 values; changes in labour force size are driven by
changes in working-age population size alone.
2. Baseline: Participation rates are projected by gender and for each 5-year age group by assuming that labour force entry and exit rates remain constant at their average value over the period
2003-2012 (2005-2010 for China).
3. Target: The gender gap for each 5-year age group in 2025 is assumed to be 25% lower than its value in 2012. All other estimates for the female participation rate are obtained by linear
interpolation. Where the projected reduction in the gender gap in the baseline scenario is already greater than the targeted reduction, the baseline projected labour force is taken instead.
Source: OECD calculations based on the OECD Population and Demography database and the OECD Employment database.

17. Social expenditure levels vary across the
globe

18. Social spending has increased
substantially in the OECD since 1960

19. Public social spending levels and
composition in Asia/Pacific, 2009
Source: OECD (2014), Society at a Glance 2014: Asia/Pacific 2014, OECD www.oecd.org/els/social/indicators/asia.
Public social protection expenditure as a % of GDP (↘)
0
5
10
15
20
25

20. Pensions and health are main areas of
social spending in the OECD

21. Governments can claw back some social
spending through direct and indirect taxation
of benefit income and related consumption

22. • Address stereotyping in educational choices at school
from a young age; encourage girls to choose Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
• Strengthen support for families and children
• Promote better sharing of paid and unpaid work among
men and women
• The long working hours culture needs to change, this
will require a sustained effort
• A better work/life balance for more parents can help
raise fertility rates
Public policy reform will help, but labour
market practices need to change to help
parents find a better work/life balance

23. SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 4
General Context Indicators
GDP per capita
Fertility
Marriage and Divorce
Migration
Old-age support rate

24. Fertility rates in Asia/Pacific are often above
the OECD average, but they are declining
more rapidly
Timor-Leste
Solomon Islands
India
Asia/Pacific
New Zealand
Indonesia
Australia
OECD
China
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Singapore
Macau (China)
Panel A. Fertility rates in Asia/Pacific higher than in OECD Panel B. Rapid declines in Asia/Pacific fertility
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 2011 (↘) Difference between 1980 and 2011
0.69
-2.59
-2.09
-1.86
0.07
-2.34
-0.02
-0.45
-1.05
-0.36
-1.59
-0.54
-0.54
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
5.45
4.16
2.59
2.43
2.10
2.09
1.87
1.71
1.58
1.39
1.24
1.20
1.12
0123456
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators http://data.worldbank.org/indicator

25. Richer countries have lower fertility rates and
lower teenage birth rates

26. SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 5
Self-sufficiency indicators
Labour force participation
Employment
Early Childhood Education & Care (ECEC)
Education attainment and student performance
Public spending on education

27. Increased life expectancy and persistently low
fertility rates lead to population ageing and, in
some countries, a smaller working-age population
Source: OECD (2014), OECD Demography and Population database, OECD, Paris
Historic and projected number of persons, millions, 1950-2050 (vertical line denotes year 2012)

28. Encouraging more women to work can help
mitigate the looming decline of the labour
force in some countries

29. Early childhood education participation is
associated with lower child mortality

30. SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 6
Equity Indicators
Poverty
Income inequality
Pensions: coverage and replacement rates
Public social spending
Solidarity

31. Absolute poverty decreased in all Asia/Pacific
low- and middle-income countries

32. Income inequality is high in Asia/Pacific,
but decreased in most countries

33. SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 7
Health Indicators
Life expectancy
Infant and child mortality
Low birth weight
Public health expenditure
Hospital care

34. Child (and infant) mortality rates have fallen

35. Wealthier countries spend a larger share of
their GDP on health, and have a healthier
population as measured by life expectancy

36. SAG Asia/Pacific Outline Chapter 8
Social Cohesion Indicators
Life satisfaction
Confidence in institutions
Trust and safety
Tolerance
Voting

37. Confidence in national governments is higher
in the Asia/Pacific region than in the OECD
on average

38. People in OECD countries are more likely to think
their society is a good place for migrants than
people in the Asia/Pacific region

39. Trends and levels of voter turnout vary
across countries

40. Acknowledgements and further reading
www.oecd.org/gender
www.oecd.org/els/social/indicators/asia
With thanks to:
Nabil ALI, Pauline FRON, Maxime LADAIQUE,
Luca LORENZONI, Chou NUON
www.oecd.org/social/society
ataglance.htm
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