The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts South Korea will become an aged society by 20-22. According to an O-E-C-D report, the proportion of people aged over 65 would exceed 14 percent of the total population by that year ... an aged society by the United Nations standards. The report said it would take Korea 20 years for the proportion of people over 65 years of age to reach 14 percent of the total population from seven percent .... the shortest period among O-E-C-D members. The report said it took one hundred-15 years for France, 85 years for Sweden and 71 years for the United States. Korea's fast growth of the aged population is blamed on a dramatic drop in birth rate. It fell to one and a half children per family in the mid-19-90s from five point four in the 19-50s due to the effective birth control policy and a lower mortality rate.