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China’s population drops for fourth year
The Straits Times
|January 20, 2026
China’s population fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, as the birth rate plunged to a record low, official data showed on Jan 19, with experts warning of further decline.
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The country’s population dropped by 3.39 million to 1.405 billion, a faster decline than in 2024, while the total number of births fell to 7.92 million in 2025, down 17 per cent from 9.54 million in 2024.
The number of deaths rose to 11.31 million from 10.93 million in 2024, figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
China’s birth rate dropped to 5.63 per 1,000 people.
Births in 2025 were “roughly the same level as in 1738, when China’s population was only about 150 million”, according to Dr Yi Fuxian, a demographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
China’s death rate of 8.04 per 1,000 people in 2025 was the highest since 1968.
The country’s population has been shrinking since 2022 and is ageing rapidly, complicating Beijing’s plan to boost domestic consumption and rein in debt.
The number of people aged over 60 reached around 23 per cent of total population, the NBS data showed.
This story is from the January 20, 2026 edition of The Straits Times.
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