BIRTHS IN CHINA FALL BY 10% TO A RECORD LOW, THREATENS ECONOMIC GROWTH

Thu 12 October 2023:

The number of newborns in China decreased significantly in the previous year. The country saw a 10% decline in births, the lowest number on record, in spite of massive government attempts to encourage motherhood.

There are worries that the nation’s demographics have become unbalanced as a result of this worrying decline.

According to a report published by the National Health Commission, China recorded just 9.56 million births in 2022. This marks the lowest figure since records were first logged in 1949.

This comes as just last year, China’s population shrank for the first time in six decades, dropping to 1.41 billion people.

The demographic trend has led domestic demographers to express concerns that China may grow ‘old before it gets rich’.

China has been facing a steady fall in its birth rates since 2017. To encourage balanced long-term population development in the face of the decline, Chinese authorities have in recent times have implemented various measures, including releasing a guideline outlining a number of policies for prenatal and postnatal support. These include efforts to expand childcare services and financial incentives to encourage families to have more children.

Such a scenario could hinder economic growth as government revenues drop, and health and welfare costs soar, increasing government debt, they warn.

As per Reuters, several factors contribute to this decline. This includes the high costs of childcare and education, increased unemployment, job insecurity, and gender discrimination.

According to the record, these difficulties have deterred many young couples from having more than one child, or even having children at all.

Previously, much of the demographic loss may be attributed to China’s one-child policy, which went into effect in 1980. It was abandoned in 2015, and things have changed substantially since then.

According to health officials cited by Reuters, nearly 40 per cent of Chinese newborns in the past year were the second child of a married couple, and 15 per cent came from families with three or more children.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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