"China's birth rate fell last year to its lowest level since 1949, highlighting a deepening demographic struggle for Beijing even as officials roll out new subsidies to encourage couples to have more children. The number of births per 1,000 people dropped to 5.6, the lowest since at least the founding of the People's Republic, according to data released by the National Statistics Bureau on Monday (Jan. 19). The number of newborns decreased 1.6 million, the most since 2020, to 7.9 million."
"The total population fell by 3.4million, the sharpest drop since the 1960 Great Famine under former leader Mao Zedong, to 1.405 billion. A shrinking workforce and aging population are major threats to the world's second-largest economy. As the elderly cohort grows, the worker-to-retiree ratio shrinks, piling more pressure on the underfunded pension system. To counter these structural headwinds, the Chinese government has implemented a series of pro-natalist policies in recent years, from extending paternity and maternity leave to making it easier to register a marriage."
China recorded a birth rate of 5.6 per 1,000 people, the lowest since 1949, with newborns falling by 1.6 million to 7.9 million. Total population declined by 3.4 million to 1.405 billion, the sharpest fall since 1960. A shrinking workforce and an aging population are reducing the worker-to-retiree ratio and increasing strain on an underfunded pension system. The government introduced measures including roughly $500 per child annually until age three for births on or after Jan. 1, 2025, extended parental leave, easier marriage registration, and a 13% VAT on contraceptive drugs and devices. Analysts point to low subsidies, declining marriage rates, and a reduced cohort of women of childbearing age—partly a legacy of the one-child policy—as drivers of the decline.
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