The population of China has now declined for two consecutive years. This is according to the UN.
China’s population is now 1.409 billion. This is a decline of over two million people in 2023. In 2022 the country’s population had shrunk by just under one million.
Last year, India overtook China to become the world’s most populous country.
China’s birth rate is now close to what it is in the advanced economies of East Asia, where the issue of a shrinking population is a serious one.
The Chinese birth rate is 6.4 per 1 000 people, the lowest yet recorded. The birth rate in Japan is 6.3 per 1 000, while in South Korea it is 4.9.
By 2035 the number of retired people in China is expected to reach 400 million, putting severe strain on the Chinese healthcare and pension systems.