China’s birthrate shrinks to historic low as demographic slide continues
Only 7.92 million babies were born in 2025 compared to 9.54 million in 2024, a decline of 17 per cent
China’s population shrank for the fourth consecutive year as birth rates in 2025 fell by about 10 million from a decade earlier, a trend widely blamed on the long-term effects of the former one-child policy.
According to the data released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday only 7.92 million babies were born in 2025 compared to 9.54 million in 2024, a decline of 17 per cent.
This marked the lowest birth figure since records began in 1949 and broke the previous lowest record set in 2023, the year India overtook China as the most populous country, according to a United Nations report.
Based on the current fertility rates in China, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) estimated in 2024 that China’s population would decline to 633 million by 2100.
As per NBS data released on Monday, China’s total population fell by 3.39 million in 2025 to 1.4049 billion from 1.4083 billion a year earlier.
Also, China is currently grappling with a rapidly ageing population. According to the official data at the end of 2024, the number of people aged 60 and above in China had hit 310 million.
By 2035, this demographic is projected to exceed 400 million.
By sheer numbers last year marked the steepest annual population decline on record, apart from during China’s devastating famine from 1959 to 1961, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.
