In a major demographic shift, China’s population fell by roughly 850,000 last year – its first drop in six decades, bringing its population to around 1.41 billion at the end of 2022.
China’s National Bureau of Statisticsreported the decrease, which is the first since 1961.
THE BIRTH AND DEATH
The National Bureau of Statistics said that 9.56 million births were recorded in 2022, which saw a sharp decline from the 10.62 million births in 2021. China also 10.41 million deaths last year. The country also recorded the lowest birth rate in 2022. It was just 6.77 births per 1,000 people. The figure is down from a rate of 7.52 births in 2021. It also said that the number of Chinese women of childbearing age, which the government defines as aged 25 to 35, fell by about 4 million.
ONE-CHILD POLICY
Experts believe that China’s one child policy has given the results. They said that much of the population loss is a result of this policy established between 1980 and 2015. Moreover, a traditional preference for boys also created an imbalance in men and women. The latest data shows China with around 722 million males compared to 690 million females
AGEING POPULATION AND CONCERN
Experts believe that China is on an irreversible path to rapid ageing and population decline. They noted that a third of the population in the country will be above 60 years of age By 2035. As ageing opulation increases, concerns have been raised over the shrinking labour force and productivity.
However, China’s National Bureau of Statistics head Kang Yi dismissed the concerns, stating that the overall labor supply still exceeds demand.
The National Bureau said that the working-age population, between 16 and 59 years old, was 875.56 million, which came to about 62 percent of the population.
On population decline, Kang Yi said that it was mainly because of the decline in newborns. Moreover, the Chief also attributed the decrease in population to delay in marriage and pregnancy and fall in number of women of child-bearing age.
