China’s Birth Rate Falls to Record Low in 2025 as Population Declines for Fourth Year

Overview

• Official data show 7.92 million births in 2025, a rate of 5.63 per 1,000 people and a 17% drop from 2024.
• China’s population is estimated at 1.404 billion after a net decrease of 3.39 million, marking a fourth consecutive annual contraction.
• The country recorded 11.31 million deaths in 2025, equal to a mortality rate of 8.04 per 1,000.
• Policy relaxations over the past decade—ending the one‑child rule, permitting a second child in 2016 and a third five years later—have not halted the decline.
• New measures include roughly $500 per year for each child under three and the removal of public nursery fees, while experts cite costs, eldercare burdens and shifting priorities, with UN projections pointing to steep long‑term shrinkage to about 633 million by 2100.