China, the populous nation... Population decreases by over 2 million compared to last year

Sharp Population Decline Amid Deepening Low Birthrate and Non-Marriage Trends
Number of Newborns Hits Lowest Record Since Foundation

In China, once known as a populous nation, authorities are increasingly concerned as the population has significantly declined for two consecutive years due to a deepening low birthrate trend. With the population decline beginning at a faster pace than expected, there are concerns that the rate of population decrease will be steeper than that of South Korea and Japan.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

On the 17th, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that as of the end of last year, the total population of China was counted at 1.40967 billion, a decrease of 2.08 million compared to the previous year. This marks the second consecutive year of population decline. The number of newborns, which recorded the lowest since the founding of the country, was only 9.02 million, while the number of deaths was 11.1 million, significantly exceeding the number of newborns.

China's male population stands at 720.32 million, and the female population at 689.35 million, with the gender imbalance still severe. By age group, the working-age population (16?59 years old) is 864.81 million, accounting for 61.3% of the total population, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous year.

The Chinese government views this as the beginning of a long-term population decline. According to the Chinese economic media outlet Caijing, the Development Research Center of the State Council recently released the "China Development Report 2023," which estimates that both the working-age population and total population peaked within the last 12 years, and that China’s population has entered a long-term decline.

According to the report, China’s total fertility rate, which was 5.5 in 1971, sharply dropped to the replacement fertility rate baseline of 2.1 within just 20 years. With the fertility rate continuing to decline, it is expected to fall below 2.0 soon.

The speed of China’s fertility rate decline is faster not only globally but also compared to South Korea and Japan in East Asia. While it took about 58 years for the global total fertility rate to decrease from 5 to the 2.3 range, and over 30 years on average in East Asia, China’s fertility rate fell to the 2.1 level in just 20 years, which is considered very rapid.

The report forecasts that China’s fertility rate is likely to remain at a low level going forward, citing four main factors that will continue to influence this trend: ▲ rising marriage age ▲ decreasing willingness to have children ▲ decline in women of childbearing age (15?49 years old) ▲ increasing infertility rates.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.