Elon Musk shares crucial advice as China’s birth rate hits record low since 1949

China has been grappling with a severe population crisis as its birth rate has fallen to a record low, lowest since 1949.

As Beijing’s population fell for the fourth straight year in 2025, Elon Musk has reacted to the historic plunge, sharing insightful advice on reviving the fertility rates.

Taking to X, the CEO wrote, “Restoring birth rates to replacement level should be top priority for all countries.”

Replacement-level fertility is the average number of children per woman needed, aiming to keep a population the same size from one generation to the next one.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s population decreased from 339 million to 1.045 billion by the end of 2025.

Despite the government’s efforts to boost the incentives for high fertility rates, the birth rate dropped to 5.53 per 1000 people. On the contrary, the death rate outnumbered the birth trajectory, like 8.04 per 1000 people.

The world’s second largest economy has recorded only 7.92 million births in 2025, compared to 11.31 million deaths.

Despite abolishing the One Child Policy in 2016, China is still mired in a deepening population quagmire.

In 2021, the government announced the plans, allowing three children per couple. The authorities have also offered parents 3600 yuan per each of their children under the age of three and imposed 13 percent tax on contraceptives.