
Children play next to adults at a park in Beijing, China June 1, 2021.
15:32 JST, July 25, 2022
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s population has slowed significantly and is expected to start to shrink ahead of 2025, the state backed Global Times reported, citing a senior health official.
Birth data released late on Sunday showed that the number of new births in 2021 was the lowest in decades in several provinces.
The number of births in central Hunan province fell below 500,000 for the first time in nearly 60 years, the Global Times said. Only China’s southern Guangdong province has had more than 1 million new births, it said.
China is battling to reverse a rapid shrinkage in natural population growth as many young people opt not to have children due to factors including the high cost and work pressure.
China’s population is expected to start to shrink in 2021-2025, the Global Times said, citing Yang Wenzhuang, head of population and family affairs at the National Health Commission.
A change in China’s laws last year to allow women to have three children has not helped, with many women saying the change comes too late and they have insufficient job security and gender equality.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
India Says It Attacked Pakistan, Pakistani Kashmir
-
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Ends Higher; NTT Data Surges on Takeover Report (UPDATE 1)
-
Putin Declares 3-Day May Ceasefire to Mark 80 Years Since World War Two Victory
-
Prime Minister Ishiba Reiterates Demand for U.S. Removal of Auto Tariffs
-
Panasonic to Cut 10,000 Employees, Expects to Book $900 Million Reform Costs
JN ACCESS RANKING
-
Core Inflation in Japan’s Capital Sharply Accelerates in April
-
U.S. Holds Fire Over Yen Exchange Rate Targets; Bessent Said to Understand Negative Impact on Markets
-
Rents Mark 30-Year-High Rate of Rise; Decrease in Disposable Income May Dampen Personal Consumption
-
Japanese Govt Mulls Raising Number of Cars to be Imported Under Simplified Screen System in U.S. Tariff Negotiations
-
Japan Must Boost Its ‘Indispensability,’ Urges JETRO Chair; Convince United States That Cooperation Will Be Beneficial