For the first time in more than 60 years, China’s population shrank in 2022. This marked a new turning point in the country’s escalating demographic issue and had a substantial impact on its sluggish economy.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the population dropped to 1.411 billion in 2022, down about 850,000 from the year before, at a briefing on yearly figures on Tuesday.
Analysts noted that the reduction was the first since the devastating famine caused by the Great Leap Forward of former leader Mao Zedong in 1961.
“The population will likely trend down from here in coming years”. Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said ”This is very important, with implications for potential growth and domestic demand.”
A record low of 6.77 births per 1,000 people down from 7.52 a year earlier and the lowest level seen since Communist China was established in 1949 was also reached by the birth rate. Despite government efforts to encourage more married couples to have children, there were 9.56 million births as opposed to 10.62 million in 2021.
The release of the new data coincided with the announcement of one of China’s worst annual economic results in close to 50 years. The economy grew by just 3% over the year, far below the government’s target, underscoring the nation’s severe economic difficulties as its labour force shrinks and its retirement population rises.
In contrast, the United States and the United Kingdom had 10.08 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2021. India, which is on track to surpass China as the world’s most populated nation, had a birth rate of 16.42 for the same year.
For the first time, deaths also exceeded births in China last year. The nation had 7.37 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, up from 7.18 the year before, which was the highest mortality rate recorded since 1976.
An impending demographic catastrophe, which would eventually reduce China’s labour force and raise the cost of healthcare and other social security benefits, had been predicted by earlier government data.
China’s population was expanding at its slowest rate in decades, according to results of an every ten years census that was revealed in 2021. Other East Asian nations like Japan and South Korea are also experiencing population decline and ageing populations.
