The number of newborns registered with the government in China dropped almost 15% last year, amid widespread concern over falling birthrates in the world's most populous country.
According to figures published by the Ministry of Public Security this week, there were 10.03 million new babies registered in 2020, compared to 11.79 million the year before a decrease of 14.9%. The news_copy comes as last year, China recorded the lowest birthrate since thePeople's Republic was founded in 1949.
China's demographic issues could pose serious issues for the world's second-largest economy when the current working-age population reaches retirement. Experts worry if the trend continues, or the population begins shrinking, China may get old before it gets rich.
According to the most recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics, there were 250 million people over 60 years old in China last year, around 18% of the population.
Stuart Gietel-Basten, a Professor of Social Science and Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that while there is likely to be a drop in births in most countries in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the statistics from China are in keeping with a general downward trend.
"The impact of Covid has probably exaggerated it, and in coming years the drops probably won't be so bad, but that downward structural trend is likely to continue," he said. "The number of new babies born is never going to be that high in future, because the number of childbearing women is declining, and will be declining rapidly (in years to come)."
While China's demographic shift is still nothing compared to some of its hyper-aged neighbors – such as Japan and South Korea, both of whose populations are now shrinking – it still poses potential problems in future, particularly as the "one child" generation ages.
