Chinese Population
Top StoryWorld News

China’s Population Falls For First Time Since 1961

491

By Tosin Deba

China’s population has fallen for the first time in 60 years with the national birth rate hitting a record low – 6.77 births per 1,000 women.

The population in 2022 – 1.4118 billion – fell by 850,000 from 2021.

China’s birth rate has been declining for years, prompting a slew of policies to slow the trend, according to reports.

But seven years after scrapping the one-child policy, it has entered what one official described as an “era of negative population growth”.

The birth rate in 2022 was also down from 7.52 in 2021, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, which released the figures on Tuesday.

Deaths also outnumbered births for the first time last year – China logged its highest death rate since 1976 – 7.37 deaths per 1,000 people, up from 7.18 the previous year.

Earlier government data had heralded a demographic crisis, which would in the long run shrink China’s labour force and increase the burden on healthcare and other social security costs.

Results from a once-a-decade census announced in 2021 showed China’s population growing at its slowest pace in decades.

An ageing population and falling birth rates have been slowing down other developed economies in Asia, such as South Korea and Japan.

China’s population trends over the years have been largely shaped by the controversial one-child policy which was introduced in 1979 to slow population growth.

Families that violated the rules were fined and in some cases even lost jobs. In a culture that historically favours boys over girls, the policy had also led to forced abortions and a reportedly skewed gender ratio boys from the 1980s.

The policy was scrapped in 2016 and married couples were allowed to have two children. In recent years, the Chinese government also offered tax breaks and better maternal healthcare, among other incentives, to reverse or at least slow the falling birth rate.

But these policies did not lead to a sustained increase in the births – experts say this is because policies that encouraged childbirth were not accompanied by efforts to ease the burden of childcare, such as more help for working mothers or access to education.

In October 2022, Chinese president Xi Jinping made boosting birth rates a priority. Xi said in a once-in-five-year Communist Party Congress in Beijing that his government will “pursue a proactive national strategy” in response to the country’s ageing population.

Meanwhile, China’s economy grew last year at the second slowest rate in almost half a century – in a sign of how the country’s strict coronavirus regulations have affected businesses.

Official figures show the gross domestic product (GDP) of the world’s second largest economy rose 3% in 2022.

That is way below the government’s target of 5.5% but better than most economists had forecast.

Last month, Beijing abruptly lifted its strict zero-Covid policy.

The policy had a major impact on the country’s economic activities in 2022 but the sudden relaxation of the rules has led to a jump in Covid cases that threatens to also drag on growth in the early part of this year.

Other than at the start of the pandemic in 2020, when full-year GDP expanded by 2.2%, last year’s economic growth was the weakest since 1976, when the founder of the People’s Republic of China Chairman Mao Zedong died.

“The data came in stronger than our expectation. Nevertheless, it reveals the hard hit to the Chinese economy from a zero-Covid policy and a property rout in 2022,” Jacqueline Rong, deputy China economist from the BNP Paribas bank, said.

Experts have voiced caution over China’s economic numbers – with some warning that the trajectory of the data rather than the figures themselves are a useful guide to how the country’s economy is performing.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Abuja, Anambra stampede fatalities: Pres. Tinubu cancels official engagements, mourns

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his official events in Lagos as a...

Deadly Stampede in Abuja: Police Report 10 Fatalities, Several Injuries

A food distribution event at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama turned...

Breaking: NNPC Ltd. Slashes Petrol Price to N899 Per Litre

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has announced a significant...

No Shutdown: NNPC Ltd. Denies Report on Old Port Harcourt Refinery

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has dismissed reports that...

Breaking: Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello, Regains Freedom After Meeting Bail Terms

Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has been released from Kuje Custodial...

Justice Minister slams Edo Gov. Okpebholo over suspension of LG chairmen, declares it illegal

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi,...

Cyber attack hits National Bureau of Statistics website, recovery process initiated

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Wednesday night that its...

Alleged N110bln money laundering charge: Court admits Yahaya Bello to another N500m bail

Yahaya Bello, the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, has been granted...

Updated: 32 feared dead in Ibadan funfair tragedy: Ooni’s ex-wife, others arrested

At least, 32 children were feared killed during a stampede at a...

Ibadan Children’s Carnival Turns Deadly: Multiple Fatalities and Injuries Reported

Tragedy struck in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as a devastating stampede...

Breaking: Pres. Tinubu Presents “Budget of Restoration of “N4.96trn for 2025, Allocating N4.9trn for Security

President Bola Tinubu has presented a proposed budget of N4.96 trillion for...

N4.9trn budget presentation: Tinubu presents 2025 budget, declares 10th NASS members re-elected

President Bola Tinubu made a surprising declaration during his 2025 budget presentation...

Just in: Tinubu presents N47.9trn budget amid tight security at National Assembly

A heavy security presence has been deployed at the National Assembly complex...

NNPC Ltd. Secured $1bln Loan to Support Dangote Refinery, Facilitates $3bln Gazelle Loan – Soneye

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has said that it...

Port Harcourt refinery operating smoothly, say labour, oil workers on fact-finding mission

A recent fact-finding visit by labour leaders has dispelled the uncertainties surrounding...

Rescheduled: Pres.Tinubu to present N47.9trn 2025 budget on Dec. 18

President Bola Tinubu has rescheduled the presentation of the N47.9 trillion 2025...

UniAbuja Renamed Yakubu Gowon University in Honour of ex-Nigerian Leader

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given the green light to rename...

Just in: Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, free to exit ECOWAS by Jan. 29

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says Niger, Mali and...

Tragedy as Benue boat mishap claims 20 lives, 11 rescued

A boat mishap on River Benue has claimed 20 lives in the...

Tinubu Chairs 66th ECOWAS Summit to Address Regional Instability

President Bola Tinubu is currently chairing the 66th Ordinary Summit of the...