The start of a year is meant for new beginnings and celebrations and with 2020 behind us, we can only hope that 2021 will be a much more warm and welcoming one.

What better way is there to start the year off than welcoming the newest editions to our worldwide family?
UNICEF calculates that on the 1st of January 2021, 371,504 babies were born into the world. Of this number, Japan makes up 0.6% with the births of 2,432 babies.

As many already know, Japan’s population has dwindled to alarmingly low numbers over the last few decades, with many worrying about what this might mean for the country’s future – however, recently the country has seen some kind of baby boom, which hopefully will help iron out any worries and even the numbers back out.
Even so, the numbers still don’t quite reflect those from other countries around the world, with UNICEF calculating that more than half of babies born on the 1st January 2021 were from the following countries:

India 59,995
China 35,615
Nigeria 21,439
Pakistan 14,161
Indonesia 12,336
Ethiopia 12,006
United States 13,12
Egypt 9,455
Bangladesh 9,236
Democratic Republic of Congo 8,640

UNICEF estimates that approximately 140 million children will be born worldwide in 2021. The world they are born into, is – and will be – very different to that that it was only a year ago, and it is our duty to ensure that each and every one of them is welcomed into a fairer, safer and healthier world.

We welcome each and every child that has been born into 2021 already, and enthusiastically await for those yet to come! May 2021 be a year full of new hopes, new beginnings and new dreams for the future!