Overview
- The National Bureau of Statistics reported mainland China’s end‑2025 population at 1,400,489,000, down 3.39 million from a year earlier.
- The annual decline widened from the prior year’s drop of 1.39 million, marking the fourth consecutive year of decrease.
- Births totaled 7.92 million, the first time below 8 million on record, with a crude birth rate of 5.6 per 1,000 people.
- Deaths rose to 11.31 million, and the 16–59 working‑age population fell to 851.36 million, down about 6.62 million year over year.
- Officials and NHK coverage attribute the continued contraction to low fertility and population aging, with 2024’s dragon‑year uptick to 9.54 million births giving way to a sharper 2025 drop.