Faced with the demographic crisis, the government is making abundant communications in favor of the birth rate and local authorities are now paying more family allowances. Without much effect for the moment.
China’s population drops by 2.08 million people in 2023, according to official data published by the Bureau of Statistics this Wednesday. This decline was more than double that of 2022, when the country lost 850,000 people and its population declined for the first time since the 1960s.
“In 2023, the number of births was 9.02 million”the BNS also announced on Wednesday, a figure down from 9.56 million in 2022.
Figure includes only individuals of Chinese nationality residing in mainland China. It does not include foreigners or residents of the semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and Macau.
A decline which can be explained in particular by the high cost of education, the lack of confidence in the economic future or even a change in social behavior.
Faced with the predicted demographic crisis, the government is increasing communication campaigns in favor of the birth rate and paying more family allowances. But these measures have not had much effect so far.
Last year, China lost its title of “most populous country in the world” for the benefit of India, according to the UN.
