China’s birth rate at a record low in 2021

According to official data released on Monday, China’s birth rate fell to a historic low last year. Thereby, prompting analysts to worry that faster-than-expected aging could exacerbate economic growth difficulties.

In 2016, China repealed its decades-old one-child policy and replaced it with a two-child restriction in an attempt to mitigate the economic risks of an aging population. But the high expense of urban living has discouraged families from having more children.

Beijing has been battling an impending demographic problem caused by a rapidly aging workforce, a faltering economy. Also, the country’s weakest population growth in decades.

China’s birth rate: Lowest since 1949

The birth rate of 7.52 per 1,000 people in 2021 was the lowest since the National Statistics Bureau began collecting data in 1949. Hence, putting even more pressure on officials to encourage more births.

This is the lowest level record in the country’s yearly Statistical Yearbook data since 1978, and the lowest since 1949, when Communist China came into existence.

According to the data, the natural growth rate of China’s population, excluding migration, was only 0.034 percent in 2021. It is the lowest since 1960.

“The demographic challenge is well known. But the speed of population aging is clearly faster than expected,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset management.

“This suggests China’s total population may have reached its peak in 2021. It also indicates China’s potential growth is likely slowing faster than expected,” Zhang said.

China has been enacting measures aimed at easing the financial burden of raising children. Thereby, including prohibiting for-profit after-school tuition, a large business, last year.

China’s working-age population is already dwindling. Thus, putting additional strain on the country’s ability to pay for and care for an aging population.

According to the data, there were 10.62 million births in 2021, compared to 12 million in 2020.

In the absence of further policy adjustments, according to Huang Wenzheng, a demography expert at the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, birth counts are likely to fluctuate in the ten million areas before decreasing further.

“But policies will provide greater support for the birth rate in the longer run,” Huang said.

“Career advancements could be tied to whether you have children or not; economic incentives; or even direct cash payouts by society to meet the cost of raising a family.”

China’s birth rate in 2020 was 8.52 births per 1,000 people.