China's birth rate in the past year is the lowest ever
Although the Communist Party already allows couples to have up to three children, the number of births per thousand people in 2021 was 7.52, compared to 8.52 in 2020.
The natural increase of the population, eight 1.41 billion people, fell to 0.34, and the accelerated aging of the labor force may cause an economic slowdown
News agencies
17/01/2022
Monday, 17 January 2022, 19:27
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The Chinese have become accustomed to small families.
A baby in infancy at a hospital in Hunan, last year (Photo: GettyImages)
China's birth rate has fallen to a negative high in the past year despite Beijing's efforts to encourage families to have more children in order to stem the demographic crisis it is experiencing.
According to official data released today (Monday), the birth rate in the second largest economy in the world in 2021 was 7.52 births per thousand people, compared to 8.52 in 2020. These are the lowest figures since records began in 1949, the year the Communists took power. It is also the lowest figure entered in China's annual statistics index, which annually assesses the country's economic situation, since 1978.
In 2016, Beijing decided to repeal the policy banning families from having more than one child and allowing couples to have another child, but the relief Did not give birth to a baby boom. Last year, authorities went one step further when they allowed couples to bring up to three children, but the natural increase in population dropped to 0.34 per thousand people, compared to 1.45 earlier.
In total, in 2021, 10.62 million babies were born in China, and its population grew to 1.41 billion people.
"The demographic challenge is a very familiar thing, but the rate of population aging is clearly faster than forecast," said economist Zhiwi Zhang. "It is also an indication that China's potential growth is slowing faster than expected."
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Last year, results from a decade-long census showed that China's population was growing at its slowest pace since the 1960s. The cost of living and cultural change - the Chinese are now accustomed to smaller families - have been cited as reasons for the low birth rate.
One child policy was introduced by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1980 to curb population growth and promote economic development, with the exception of exceptions of rural families whose eldest child was a woman and ethnic minorities.
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