China’s population shrank last year for the first time in six decades. At the end of December, the most populous country in the world had 1.411 billion inhabitants, about 850,000 less than a year earlier, the statistics bureau in Beijing reported on Tuesday.
The birth rate was only given as 6.77 newborns per 1000 people – this is the lowest in decades. The steadily declining number first fell into the single digits two years ago.
With 9.56 million births and 10.41 million deaths, the population fell for the first time last year, the statistics office reports. According to this information, the population last declined in 1960 and 1961 – due to severe famine after the devastating industrialization campaign of the “Great Leap Forward”. By 2021, the population had grown by 450,000 people.
China has been experiencing a sharp fall in the birth rate for some time
China has been struggling for some time with a sharp fall in the birth rate and an aging population. The effects of the ‘one-child policy’, which has been pursued for decades, are becoming increasingly visible. The abolition of controversial contraception in 2016 only briefly led to a slight increase in the number of births.
Experts see the high costs of housing, education and health care in China and the declining willingness to marry as the real reasons for the worrying development. The corona pandemic, which has been going on for three years, added further uncertainties that are likely to have accelerated the trend.
Three children allowed since 2021
In response to the falling birth rate and the rapid aging of the population, three children were also admitted in 2021. Since then, the government has also been trying to make it easier for young couples to take care of children. The cost of education has been reduced. Financial support has been provided and maternity and parental leave has been made easier, as many women fear that motherhood will have a negative impact on their careers.
Every fifth Chinese over the age of 60
Due to the aging population, fewer and fewer working people in the second largest economy have to care for more and more elderly people. Every fifth Chinese is already over 60 years old. At the same time, the population group of the statistically considered working age between 15 and 59 years continues to shrink.
Source: Krone
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