China’s Population Declines for First Time in Over Six Decades

China stated Tuesday that it saw its population decline for the first six decades. This may have implications on the world’s economy.

According to China’s official statistics, the population of mainland China dropped by 850,000 to 1.411 billion last year. National Bureau of Statistics.

The country’s birth rate was 6.77 per thousand, below the death rate of 7.37 per thousand. In comparison, the United States had a 2020 birth rate of 10.7 per thousand, and a death rate of 10 per thousand. data from the World Bank.

China is the second-largest country in the world. It has an aging population that has struggled with low birth rates for many years. The last time the population fell was in 1961, during Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward, according to CNN. 

In an effort to increase birth rates, the country abolished its one-child policy in 2015. However, it has continued to fall. 

“The Chinese economy is entering a critical transition phase, no longer able to rely on an abundant, cost-competitive labor force to drive industrialization and growth,” Frederic Neumann is the chief Asia economist for HSBC.

This announcement was part of an overall analysis of China’s economy for the past year. The bureau highlighted positive trends.

“Under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade (President) Xi Jinping as the core … the economic output reached a new level, the employment and prices were generally stable [and] people’s lives were continuously improved,” According to the bureau.