Why Guangdong accounts for one in eight of China’s newborns as births fall nationwide

Guangdong, China’s largest regional economy, remained the country’s baby-making powerhouse last year, accounting for roughly one in every eight newborns nationwide even as the overall population declined, according to the latest official demographic breakdown.

The northeast continued to record the country’s steepest population drop – with a natural population decline of up to seven per 1,000 people – while parts of central and western China also saw significant demographic deterioration, data from the newly released China Statistical Yearbook 2026 showed.