AP | Edited By NE Watch Desk
China’s population declined for the
second consecutive year with 2 million people less in 2023 owing to birth fall
and death surge, according to the government’s statistics bureau.
The number of deaths drastically doubled
to 690,000 that demographers anticipated due to Covid outbreaks. The total
population now stands at 1.4 billion, as reported by the statistics bureau.
The decline in births posed an economic
and societal challenge as it led to a dwindling workforce and young people, with no one to take care of the aging population.
This drop in births marks the seventh
consecutive year of decline, although the decrease is less pronounced than in
previous years. Approximately 9 million babies were born last year, which is
half of the total recorded in 2016.
China, formerly focused on population
control with its one-child policy, now faces the opposite dilemma. Despite
officially ending the one-child policy in 2016 and government efforts to
encourage more births, the results have been limited.
Factors such as delayed marriage, a
choice to remain childless, and the high cost of education in a competitive
academic environment have contributed to the ongoing decline in births. The
demographic trends underscore the complexities and challenges China faces in
addressing its population dynamics.
