Number of residents ChineseThe second most populous country in the world Last year it fell to about 2.08 millionThat’s according to official data released today by the Asian country’s Office for National Statistics (ONE).
The data represents: Second year of contraction in a rowThe population decreased by 850,000 people in 2022, the first decline since 1961, when the number of residents shrank as a result of the failed industrialization policy of the Great Leap Forward.
Specifically, China closed 2023 with a population of 1,409.67 million; This contrasts with the 1,411.75 million population in the country at the end of the previous year. A decrease of 2.08 million, 0.14% decrease compared to the previous yearThis confirms the negative demographic trend that begins in 2022, which Chinese officials have been warning about for years.
The Asian giant recorded 9.02 million births last year, as opposed to the 9.5 million recorded in 2022 and despite efforts by both national and local authorities to increase birth rates. Chinese experts predicted last November that: The number of births will continue to decline in China in 2023 for the seventh consecutive year due to the decline in the number of registered marriages in recent years and the rising age of marriage among Chinese young people.
According to official data, the number of men exceeds the number of women with a ratio of 104.49 men per 100 women: The number of men was 720.3 million and the number of women was 689.4 million. ONE figures also reflect an increase in deaths, from 10.41 million to 11.1 million.
The Asian giant has allowed its citizens to have a third child since 2021, but the decision is not met with great excitement by the public due to both the economic burden of parenthood and the priority given to career.
At the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022, the ruling party emphasized that the country needs a system that “increases birth rates and reduces the costs of pregnancy, birth, education and parenting.” Lin Caiyi, vice president of the China Economists Forum Research Institute, warned that the population is shrinking means a reduction in the workforceThis “will inevitably lead to slower economic growth.” According to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, the expert pointed out that the pressure on social security expenses “increases from year to year as the population ages.”
Professor Peng Xizhe from the Center for Population and Development Policy Studies at Fudan University made the following prediction in the statements compiled by the newspaper: China’s population “will continue to decline” in coming yearsBecause deaths will exceed births. According to his estimates, the annual number of newborns “may recover slightly” but will never again exceed 10 million, while the number of deaths “will continue to rise.”
Meanwhile, Professor Yuan Xin from Nankai University School of Economics announced to local media: China needs to create a “more integrated” policy system to create a conducive environment for having children: “This system should focus on equality and be consistent across the country,” he said, referring to various measures implemented by local Chinese governments to increase birth rates.
It is estimated that around 2035, there will be over 400 million people over the age of 60 in the Asian country, representing more than 30% of China’s population. Last April, UN estimates showed that neighboring India had become the world’s most populous country after overtaking China.