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Woman and child in Beijing: The repeal of the one-child policy, which had been in force since 1979, only led to a slight increase in births in 2016
Photo: Andy Wong / AP
For decades, China has tried a one-child policy to control population growth in the country.
However, those times are long gone.
The birth rate in the People's Republic is falling significantly.
Last year the number of births fell dramatically to an "alarming" low.
Compared to the previous year, 15 percent fewer newborns were officially registered, reported the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing.
The number fell from 11.79 to 10.04 million.
Experts warned of an aging population in the world's most populous country, which is progressing much faster than expected.
That will slow the growth of the second largest economy.
According to the statistics office, the annual birth rate had already reached its lowest level since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 in 2019.
The reasons given were the high costs for education and housing in China.
The number of marriages is also falling, while the divorce rate is high in China.
Many couples wait to get married and do not start families until later.
The repeal of the one-child policy had only led to a slight increase
The repeal of the one-child policy, which has been in force since 1979, resulted in only a slight increase in births in 2016, but the number has continued to fall every year since then.
The exact extent of the decline will be revealed in April, when the statistics office wants to present the figures for 2020.
Experts pointed out that the reported number of newly requested residence registrations (hukou) does not reflect all births, as many babies are also not registered.
The developments are being watched with concern.
"Nobody wants to have children," said family planning expert and well-known author Yi Fuxian from the American University of Wisconsin to the dpa news agency in Beijing.
The one-child policy that has lasted for decades has "changed people's concept of fertility."
"People have got used to having only one child," said Yi Fuxian.
"The concept is deeply rooted and difficult to change."
"People have got used to having only one child."
Family planning expert Yi Fuxian
The expenditures to raise children in China are also higher than even in more progressive economies like Taiwan or South Korea.
"On the one hand, the divorce rate in China is high, on the other hand, the marriages are declining," said Yi Fuxian.
"That is very worrying." He warned of the economic consequences of aging and the decline in the workforce.
"When the workforce decreases, the economy begins to decline," said the expert.
China's growth will level off.
According to estimates, growth in China between 2030 and 2035 will be slower than in the USA, said Yi Fuxian.
"It will be impossible to replace the USA as the largest economy." Experts also pointed out that fewer people in work in China have to provide more and more elderly people with it.
Today every fifth Chinese is over 60 years old.
The newspaper “Global Times”, which is published by the communist party organ “Volkszeitung”, spoke of a “warning threshold” which had been undercut with only ten million newborns registered.
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bmo / asc / dpa
