China's birth rate hits 75-year low

EXPERTS WARN DEMOGRAPHIC FALL MAY WEIGH ON FUTURE ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

- ALEXANDRA STEVENSON

DECLARING CHILDBIRTH A patriotic act. Nagging newlyweds about family planning. Taxing condoms. To get its citizens to have babies, the Chinese Communist Party has pulled every lever. The efforts have largely failed. For the fourth year in a row, China reported more deaths than births in 2025 as its birthrate plunged to a record low, leaving its population smaller and older.

The government on Monday said 7.92 million babies were born last year, down from 9.54 million in 2024. The number of people who died in 2025, 11.31 million, continued to climb. The latest population figures were reported alongside economic data that showed China’s economy grew 5 percent in 2025.

The number of births for every 1,000 people fell to 5.63, the lowest level on record since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, according to official government data.