CHINA'S DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE DEEPENS WITH 2.08 MILLION DROP IN POPULATION IN 2023

According to the United Nations Population Fund data, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people last year

In 2023, China's population experienced a secLond consecutive annual decline, with a decrease of 2.08 million, bringing the total to 1.4097 billion. Official data released on Wednesday revealed that India has now surpassed China as the world's most populous country. China's population reported its first decline in six decades in 2022 after the birth rate hit a new low resulting in decades of the one-child policy pursued vigorously by the ruling Communist Party of China to control the population growth with experts predicting a steeper decline in the coming years in the world's second-largest economy.

According to the United Nations Population Fund data, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people last year.

Last year 9.02 million babies were born in China, down by 5.6 per cent from 9.56 million in 2022 amid the plummeting interest in couples having children, according to data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics.

The falling number of new babies resulted in the lowest birth rate since records began in 1949, with 6.39 births for every 1,000 people, compared with 6.77 in 2022.

China implemented a third-child policy in May of 2021 and rolled out a series of stimulus measures to boost population growth.

Several cities, provinces and regions across the country have rolled out incentive policies such as issuing subsidies to families with a second or third child.

China's population growth has been slowing since 2016 as the high cost of raising children, a greater pursuit of individualism and a diversified lifestyle dampen enthusiasm to start a family.

The country's zero-Covid policies, implemented between 2020 and late 2022, are also perceived to have contributed to the slide.