China’s Population Falls for a 2nd Straight Year as Births Continue to Drop

In addition to a significant decrease in China's population, an increase in the aging rate of the population has been announced.
The Chinese Bureau of Statistics released its population data on January 17. According to the Chinese Xinhua News network, China's population will decrease significantly in 2023, with the total population reaching approximately 1.40967 billion, a decrease of 2.8 million compared to the same period. This marks the second consecutive year of population decline in China, and according to the data, the population decrease in 2023 will be more than double that of the previous year.
The data indicates that the number of births in China last year was 9.2 million, with a birth rate of 6.39%, the lowest since 1949. The number of deaths was 11.1 million, with a death rate of 7.87%, which has been increasing for three consecutive years. The natural population growth rate was minus 1.48‰.
In terms of age structure, the population of working age, between 16 and 59 years old, reached 864.81 million, accounting for 61.3% of China's total population, a decrease of over 10 million compared to the same period. The population aged 60 and above is 296.97 million, representing 21.1% of China's total population. Among them, there are 216.76 million people aged 65 and above, accounting for 15.4% of China's total population. As a result, the aging rate among China's population has increased more prominently than in 2022.
Observers note that the aging of the country's population poses a serious crisis alongside the economic slowdown in China, and both crises are expected to disrupt China's stability in the future.