This is evidenced by data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China, Ukrinform reports.
The first decrease in the number of Chinese residents since 1961 (the end of the Great Chinese Famine) was recorded in 2022 and amounted to 850 thousand people, and already in 2023 there was a sharp reduction in the population by 2,08 million - to 1,409 billion, which is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Bureau of Statistics reports that as of the end of 2024, China had 1,408 billion registered residents, down 1,39 million from the previous year. This indicates that China is facing a deepening demographic crisis - last year, the country's population growth rate was negative 0,99 per thousand.
According to statistics, 9,54 million children were born in China last year (compared to 9,02 million in 2023), and the birth rate rose to 6,77 per 1000 people, compared to 6,39 per 1000 people the previous year.
Local experts consider the increase in the birth rate to be temporary and attribute it to factors such as an increase in registrations in 2023, after the pandemic, marriages and a short-term increase in birth rates in certain regions in the first half of 2024, as well as the fact that 2024 was the Year of the Dragon, which in China is considered favorable for having children.
At the same time, the death rate last year again exceeded the birth rate and amounted to 7,76 per thousand inhabitants, although the number of deaths decreased to 10,93 million from 11,1 million in 2023.
By age structure, China's working-age population aged 16 to 59 accounts for 60,9% of the total (857,98 million people), and those aged 60 and over account for 22%, or 310,31 million people.
China's urban population share (urbanization rate) was 67% at the end of last year, 0,84% higher than the figure at the end of 2023.
The Chinese government officially abolished the “one-child policy” that had required families to have only one child for decades in 2016 and moved to encourage birth rates. However, the measures have not helped reverse the long-term trend of population decline.
Chinese demographers predict that by the end of this century, the number of women of reproductive age in the country will decrease by more than two-thirds — to 100 million people, and the reduction in the share of the working-age population will result in a slowdown in the country's economic development.
However, China is not the only Asian country facing a demographic crisis. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are also experiencing rapid population declines for similar reasons.
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