London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

China has recorded its slowest population growth in decades, new census reveals

China has recorded its slowest population growth in decades, new census reveals

China's population grew at its slowest rate in decades in the 10 years prior to 2020, according to census data released on Tuesday - a trend that could pose serious issues for the world's second-largest economy.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the population rose by 5.38% over the past decade — or 72 million people — to 1.41 billion people.

The latest data represents an average annual population growth rate of 0.53%, which was 0.04% lower than the annual growth rate reported between 2000 and 2010. It's the slowest growth rate for China since at least the 1960s.

The figures also raise the prospect of a demographic crisis for the world's most populous nation, with a falling birth rate and rapidly aging work force threatening to curtail its rapid economic growth.

National Bureau of Statistics head Ning Jizhe said the falling growth rate was a result of couples putting off having children longer and the rising costs of raising a family. Ning said the number of women at child-bearing age was also declining.

"In the future, at some time, China's population will peak some day but there are still uncertainties. For some time to come, China's total population will be kept at above 1.4 billion," he said, adding China would have an "abundant labor force ... for some time to come."

One-child policy reversal


China launched its seventh national census on November 1 last year, sending 7 million workers to count its massive population amid a global pandemic.

In recent years, the Chinese government has battled to reverse declining population growth as it faces the reality of fewer workers supporting an increasingly aging society.

China's slowing population growth is partially a result of its one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979 and for more than 35 years limited couples to only one child.

Three years after the policy was enacted, China's third national census reported average annual population growth of 2.1% over the past 18 years, with the population nearly doubling between 1964 and 1982.

The government said in 2015 it would change the one-child policy to allow up to two children, but China's birth rate has struggled to recover.

The 2020 census, the first since the policy's removal, showed a slight rise in the proportion of citizens aged below 14 — from 16.6% in 2010 to 17.95% in 2020 — but not enough to reverse the overall trend of an aging population with a slowing growth rate.

The data also shows the number of newborns registered in China in 2020 dropped by almost 15% year-on-year, from 11.79 million in 2019 to 10.03 million.

Yong Cai, Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina said China was changing from a "high fertility, high mortality" country to a "low fertility, low mortality" combination. "The Chinese government is very aware of that and society is, you know, aware of that and the structural adjustment is ongoing," he said.

'Major headwind' to China's economy


As a result of the falling birth rate, China's work force is aging, and the government is worried the changing demographics could lead to rising pension costs and falling economic growth.

The 2020 census data showed the proportion of the population aged over 65 rose rapidly, from 8.87% in 2010 to 13.5% in 2020.

Cai said the rise of the elderly population was a "major headwind" for the Chinese economy. "[But] China is not alone in this. You know most of even middle-income countries are in this category. The entire world is now getting into the reality that we are all aging together," he said.

The Chinese government has discussed raising the retirement age to deal with the aging workforce — currently men retire at 60, while women can stop working at 55 for white collar employees and 50 for laborers.

Despite the slowing population growth, Stuart Gietel-Basten, professor of social science and public policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said there were a number of positives from the 2020 census data for China.

"The sex ratio at birth looks to have come down quite a lot, which means that the sex-selection abortion against girls looks to be down. Illiteracy rates are going down, the number of people with university education has gone up very sharply," he said.

"It's less important when [China] clicks over to population decline, what's more important is how much population adapts to an era of no growth."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×