Overview
- The country recorded 7.92 million births in 2025, a rate of 5.63 per 1,000 and down 17% from 2024, the lowest since records began in 1949.
- China’s population fell for a fourth straight year, declining by about 3.39 million to roughly 1.404–1.405 billion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
- Deaths rose to 11.31 million in 2025, producing a mortality rate of 8.04 per 1,000 that exceeded births and reached the highest level since 1968.
- Authorities have introduced birth bonuses and childcare subsidies, expanded free public childcare, applied a 13% VAT to contraceptives from January 1, and pledged full coverage of pregnancy and IVF costs in 2026.
- About 23% of residents are 60 or older, and UN demographic models project China’s population could drop to around 633 million by 2100 as high child-rearing costs and fewer marriages weigh on fertility.