Overview
- China recorded 7.92 million births in 2025, equal to 5.63 per 1,000 people, the lowest level since the founding of the People’s Republic.
- Deaths rose to about 11.31 million, a rate of 8.04 per 1,000, driving a population decline of roughly 3.39–3.4 million to around 1.4049 billion in the fourth straight annual drop.
- The total fertility rate fell to about 0.98 children per woman, far below the 2.1 replacement level, with analysts pointing to high childrearing and housing costs, economic insecurity, urbanization, and fewer women of childbearing age.
- Rapid ageing continued as roughly 323 million people—about 23% of the population—are now over 60, and authorities have begun a phased increase in statutory retirement ages.
- Government steps include cash allowances for young children, coverage of pregnancy and IVF from 2026, and new taxes on contraceptives that drew criticism, while some demographers say the real decline may be even deeper than official counts.