A new UN report finds that many reproductive-age adults want to have children but are giving up on the idea due to financial reasons. 

According to the UN Population Fund(UNFPA) State of World Population 2025 report released on Tuesday, 58 percent of South Koreans surveyed cited financial limitations as the main factor leading them to have fewer children than they initially desired.

That percentage was the highest among the 14 countries surveyed. 

The report surveyed some 14-thousand people across 14 countries, including countries with serious fertility rate issues such as South Korea and Germany as well as countries boasting some of the highest fertility rates, including Nigeria. 

The report found that most of those surveyed wanted to have two children.

However, 18 percent of respondents said they believe they would be unable to have the number of children they desired while eleven percent said they believe they would have fewer children than they would ideally choose. 

UNFPA’s Executive Director Natalia Kanem said many people are unable to create the families they want, stressing that “the issue is lack of choice, not desire, with major consequences for individuals and societies.”

She said “that is the real fertility crisis, and the answer lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care, and supportive partners.”