China says population fell for third year in a row in 2024


This photo taken on January 16, 2025 shows a woman (L) holding a baby in a park in Fuyang, east China's Anhui province. China said on January 17 its population fell for the third year running in 2024, extending a downward streak after more than six decades of growth as the country battles a looming demographic crisis. - AFP

BEIJING: China said Friday its population fell for the third year running in 2024, extending a downward streak after more than six decades of growth as the country battles a looming demographic crisis.

The population stood at 1.408 billion by the end of the year, Beijing's National Bureau of Statistics said, down from 1.410 billion in 2023.

But the decline was less sharp than the previous year, when it was more than double the fall reported for 2022.

China ended its strict "one-child policy", imposed in the 1980s amid overpopulation fears, in 2016 and started letting couples have three children in 2021.

But that has failed to reverse the demographic decline for a country that has long relied on its vast workforce as a driver of economic growth.

Many blame falling birth rates on the soaring cost of living, as well as the growing number of women going into the workforce and seeking higher education.

People over 60 are expected to make up nearly a third of China's population by 2035, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research group.

In September, officials said they would gradually raise the statutory retirement age, which had not been raised for decades and had been among the lowest in the world.

The rules took effect from January 1. - AFP

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
China , population , decline

Next In Aseanplus News

Thai PM Paetongtarn backs Malaysian Asean 2025 chairmanship
‘A great scene partner’: Friends pay respects to late entertainer Moses Lim at wake
Lanterns carrying hopes light up the sky
Impeachment trial enters final stage
Vietnamese blogger detained in Cambodia, say police
Reunion centre to be gone
Lawyers to probe alleged killing of Myanmar man
Four killed in suspected gas blast
Power banks set to be limited on flights following fire
Evacuation order out as volcano alert at highest

Others Also Read