China population falls to record low

China’s population continues to decline for a consecutive second year, adding to the fear of the country’s future growth. Data released on Wednesday showed a population of 1.409 billion by the end of 2023, a 2.08m decrease from 2022, BBC reported.

Last year, the population dropped for the first time in 60 years and this time it has fallen by almost double that.

However, given the nation's record-low birth rate and growing urban class, analysts believe this decrease is predicted.

Beijing said that the birth rate has decreased to 6.39 per 1,000 people, which puts it on pace with other developed East Asian countries like South Korea and Japan.

The nation has seen declining birth rates for many years, after the implementation of a contentious one-child policy in the 1980s to address the then-existing overpopulation issue.

To stop the population decline, the government reversed the policy in 2015 and introduced several additional incentives, including rewards and subsidies, to encourage individuals to have families. The limit was further loosened in 2021 to let couples have up to three children.

However, the policies have borne little impact on young people in modern cities citing restraints like the rise in the cost of living and focus on career.

The falling birth rate coincides with a shrinking workforce and a rapidly aging population: twin challenges for China’s government as it grapples with funding health care and pensions for elderly citizens while aiming to maintain growth in an economy manned by fewer people of working age.