2026.01.1903:00:37UTC+00China’s Population Falls for Fourth Straight Year

China's population experienced a reduction of 3.39 million, settling at 1.405 billion in 2025. This marked the fourth consecutive year of decline, following a decrease of 1.39 million in 2024. Notably, the population level in 2025 was the lowest since 2017. Birth rates fell significantly, with only 7.92 million births recorded in 2025 compared to 9.54 million in 2024, reaching their lowest in decades. In contrast, the number of deaths increased to 11.31 million from 10.93 million in the previous year. The demographic composition continued to age, as individuals aged 60 and above reached 323 million, constituting 23% of the total population—an increase of one percentage point from 2024. As part of its economic strategy, China is placing increasing emphasis on population policy, given the declining birth rate. To counteract the effects of stringent population controls that, while alleviating poverty, have transformed family structures, Beijing plans to invest approximately CNY 180 billion in 2026 to stimulate higher birth rates, according to estimates by Reuters.