China's population

Is there a crisis brewing in the world's most populated country?
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China confirmed its population grew to 1.412 billion in 2020, from 1.4 billion a year earlier, according to the results of its once-in-a-decade census. But the number of new births fell for the fourth consecutive year in 2020, adding to concerns about China’s ageing population, with the demographic data set to have far-reaching social policy and economic implications.

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News
Economic Indicators
China’s population dropped for a second year in a row in 2023, falling by 2.08 million from 2022 to 1.4097 billion. Photo: AFP
Economic Indicators
China has among the lowest retirement ages. Will population woes change that?
China’s population is expected to plunge by 20 million to 1.39 billion by 2035, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), after it suffered a second consecutive annual decline in 2023.
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There are concerns in China that the upcoming “Year of the Widow” could deter people from getting married and starting a family. Photo: Shutterstock
China Economy
Will China’s ‘Year of the Widow’ quell ‘dragon baby’ boom amid demographic woes?
Chinese are debating a superstitious belief that the coming lunar year will bode badly for marriages, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs is paying attention.
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China confirmed its economy grew by 5.2 per cent in 2023 in January, while it also revealed its population fell to 1.4097 billion last and resumed the release of its youth jobless data. Photo: AP
China Economy
Explainer|China’s challenging start to 2024: 6 takeaways from the economy in January
China confirmed its economy grew by 5.2 per cent in 2023, revealed that its population fell to 1.4097 billion, and resumed the release of youth-jobless data, with a twist.
In this issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we break down China’s most recent economic and demographic data, and looks ahead to what 2024 might hold for the world’s second-largest economy. Photo: Reuters
Economic Indicators
Economic, demographic challenges mount for China early in 2024
In this issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we break down China’s most recent economic and demographic data, and looks ahead to what 2024 might hold for the world’s second-largest economy.
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High youth unemployment is one of the factors contributing to a low marriage rate among men in rural China, according to University of Wisconsin demographer Yi Fuxian. Photo: Shutterstock
China
Chinese villages offer cash to matchmakers amid anxieties over ‘bachelor crisis’
Local governments across China announce incentives of up to US$140 for those who help unmarried men find wives as some policymakers worry gender imbalance and surplus of single men could affect stability and development in countryside.
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Opinion
Opinion|Greying China is poised to reap a new economic dividend: robotics
As the population shrinks, China is looking to compensate for a dwindling youth dividend with robotics. Already the world’s largest market for industrial robots, it is now a manufacturer to be reckoned with too.
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China’s overall population fell by 2.08 million last year to 1.4097 billion, down from 1.4118 billion in 2022, while births declined by 5.6 per cent to 9.02 million in 2023. Photo: Reuters
Economic Indicators
Explainer|Like if the US lost New Mexico: 6 takeaways from China’s 2023 population data
Mainland China’s population fell by 2.08 million last year to 1.4097 billion, down from 1.4118 billion in 2022, while births declined by 5.6 per cent to 9.02 million in 2023, according to data released on Wednesday.
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Society
China posts record-low birth rate despite push for babies
China’s overall population fell by 2.08 million last year to 1.4097 billion. Photo: AFP
Economic Indicators
China’s population falls by 2 million in 2023 as births tumble to 9 million
China’s overall population fell by 2.08 million last year to 1.4097 billion, down from 1.4118 billion in 2022, while births declined by 5.6 per cent to 9.02 million in 2023, data released on Wednesday showed.
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A falling participation rate is threatening the sustainability of China’s state medical insurance system as the country deals with the effects of a rapidly ageing population. Photo: Xinhua
Economic Indicators
As enthusiasm wanes, can China halt exodus from its health insurance scheme?
Over 25 million people in China dropped out of the voluntary urban and rural residents’ health insurance scheme in 2022 due to rising premiums, lower incomes and a lack of awareness.
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An MRI scan shows the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. Photo: Shutterstock
Science
China approves Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi developed by Eisai and Biogen
China has approved the sale of Leqembi, an antibody that has shown to slow progression of the disease for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. The drug will be launched in the third quarter.
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As the job market has soured, many migrant workers have returned to the countryside from the city to take up work in farming. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
China Economy
China’s migrants return to farm, drastically changing workforce dynamics
For the first time in decades, the share of China’s workforce employed in raw materials industries has gone up – a consequence of a weak job market and a return of rural migrants to their homes.
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Two migrant workers walk near a construction site in Beijing. Expanding urban registration for migrants could be a source of new consumption for an economy in need of heightened activity. Photo: EPA-EFE
China Economy
How expanding China’s urban residency may unleash 2 trillion yuan in spending
Changing the residential status of urban migrants in China could free up incomes for consumption through access to better public services – but it remains an open question whether such a change is feasible.
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Xinzhai village in Yunnan province promotes itself as “the first coffee village in China” and is enjoying a upturn in fortunes. Photo: Handout
Opinion
Opinion|China’s ‘first coffee village’ highlights potential for rural revival
In showing that rural life can be attractive and prosperous, Yunnan’s Xinzhai village is changing the narrative that rural life has to be hard, backwards and inconvenient.
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China had 280 million people aged over 60 at the end of 2022, accounting for 19.8 per cent of the population, according to the government data. Photo: Getty Images
Economic Indicators
Mind the gap: China should foster digitally inclusive society as population ages
China, one of the world’s fastest ageing countries, has added questions for people aged 60 and above to a survey about population changes and the labour force, including their ability to use a smartphone.
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China’s voluntary urban and rural residents’ scheme is intended for anyone who is unemployed, including children. Photo: AP
Economic Indicators
A high price to pay: millions drop out of China’s state health insurance scheme
Enrolment in China’s state health insurance system fell by about 17 million subscribers last year, with social security and rural affairs experts pointing to a number of factors.
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Over 51 per cent of people aged between 25 and 29 remained single in 2022, up from 48.7 per cent in the previous year, the 2023 China Population and Employment Statistical Yearbook showed. Photo: Reuters
Economic Indicators
Reluctance to marry, have kids continued in 2022 amid China’s population woes
Over 51 per cent of people aged between 25 and 29 in China remained single in 2022, while a plunge in the number of babies born as a second child dragged down the annual fertility rate.
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Homebuyers leave their residential compound through a hole in a wall, at the unfinished Gaotie Wellness City complex in Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, China on September 12. Photo: Reuters
Opinion
Opinion|Why public housing offers a two-in-one solution to China’s problems
It’s becoming clear that the Chinese government may have to take over many of the flats that private developers cannot complete. Turning private homes into affordable public housing could be a way to defuse the real estate crisis and encourage families to have children.
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Grandparents remain a major, and usually free, caregiving option for Chinese parents. Photo: Getty Images. Photo: Getty Images
Economic Indicators
Reward grandparents, ban antinatalist content to boost China’s tumbling births
As births in China could plunge further to as low as 7 million this year, recognising grandparents who help raise children and promotional activities have been suggested to ease population woes.
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Students head for classes on a cold day in Beijing on November 29. After nine years of compulsory schooling, children in China must pass an exam to enter an academic high school. Photo: AFP
Opinion
Opinion|Why so many young Chinese are depressed – and how Beijing can help
The rise of youth depression owes much to China’s rigid education system, the loneliness of only children and tight rural-urban migration restrictions. Centrally planned schooling, along with migration restrictions that mean millions of children are left behind in rural areas, should be done away with.
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China is looking to catch up with SpaceX in space-related advancements. Here, a Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft and a crew of three astronauts, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on October 26. Photo: AFP
China Economy
Explainer|From outer space to seven seas, China’s 6 big economic priorities for 2024
China’s annual tone-setting central economic work conference concluded on Tuesday, with a 4,355-character outline of leadership’s plans for next year.
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Last year, women in China gave birth to 9.56 million babies, marking the lowest total in modern history. Photo: Getty Images
Economic Indicators
Focus on people not numbers, China told, as it faces unavoidable birth decline
Survey by the Institute of Public Policy at the South China University of Technology says China should focus on fertility services, instead of birth rates as it seeks solutions to its population crisis.
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Even after education reforms intended to lower costs and narrow gaps in outcomes, the divide between rich and poor appears to be growing. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China Economy
China’s tutoring ban meant to ease stress, costs but has worsened education gap
Two years since China passed education reforms to lower schoolwork burdens and reduce inequalities in education outcomes, the divide only appears to have grown wider and deeper.
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Some workers run to have lunch at the Hualida clothing factory canteen in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, on November 14. Retirement age in China is among the lowest globally – 60 for men, 55 for white-collar women. But with better nutrition and healthcare, workers in this cohort are retiring with longer, healthier lives ahead of them. Photo: EPA-EFE
Opinion
Opinion|China’s workforce paradox and how to solve it
China’s employment conundrum, where younger people are perceived as past their prime at age 35 and older workers retire too soon, calls for solutions. Workers across age groups should embrace lifelong learning and juggling multiple roles. AI can be deployed, with care, to avoid widening inequalities.
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Chinese state councillor and president of the All-China Women’s Federation Shen Yiqin has called for greater effort to eliminate gender discrimination and domestic violence. Photo: Reuters
Politics
China’s top women’s affairs official vows to promote marriage and family
Shen Yiqin, state councillor and president of the All-China Women’s Federation, says women must contribute to the ‘great cause of national rejuvenation’.
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A baby being given a health check by a nurse in Anhui, China on January 17. Photo: Getty Images
Opinion
Opinion|China wants to raise birth rate, but has missed new mothers’ every need
China has been taking measures to encourage couples to have children, offering incentives ranging from cash to homebuyer subsidies. However, there is not enough information on what to expect and how to raise a child, not much community help and the ‘birth reward’ doesn’t go very far.
Opinion
The View|China must plug urban-rural gap for a dignified old age for all
From pensions to medical care, China’s rural-urban divide must be urgently addressed. Or just about everyone outside the rich middle class will be left out of the silver economy.
Winston Mok
My Take|China’s demographic trends show it is potentially sleepwalking to disaster
China’s population is declining and ageing faster, requiring decisive action from authorities if the country is to avert a demographic time bomb.
SCMP ColumnistZhou Xin
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Editorial|As China’s population falls, let us not forget there is a silver lining
With every crisis, comes opportunities; with foresight and adjustment, economic and social engines can still drive positive and sustainable growth.
SCMP Editorial
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My Take|Can China’s elderly become a silver economic lining?
State Council rolls out national blueprint to improve life for older generations, with hopes of new investment opportunities.
Josephine Ma
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My Take|Is China’s greying population a blessing or a curse?
Former World Bank chief economist Justin Lin says any drag on growth will be offset, while analyst Peter Zeihan says it will doom the nation.
SCMP ColumnistAlex Lo
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Macroscope|Can India fill the void from China’s economic slowdown? Unlikely
As China’s prospects darken, a bullish narrative is growing that India could become the biggest contributor to global growth. But this might be wishful thinking, given that while India has a large and youthful population, its labour force participation rate is worryingly low.
Nicholas Spiro
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Opinion|China’s aversion to bad news about its economy is counterproductive
Efforts to defend Beijing’s official narrative have intensified this year, as the country’s post-coronavirus economic recovery slowed amid mounting problems.
SCMP ColumnistZhou Xin
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Opinion|Why China’s housing restrictions will share the same fate as its one-child policy
By cutting home down payments and lowering mortgage rates, China is pumping more money into an ailing sector crucial to local government revenues and national economic soundness.
SCMP ColumnistZhou Xin
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The View|How social housing could cure what ails China’s property sector and economy
Policymakers have enacted easing measures for China’s property sector, but the impact is likely to be limited and fail to address underlying causes. Looking to the Singapore model of social housing could be the best way to get China back on track.
Winston Mok
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Outside In|Like it or not, migrants rich and poor will shape our economic futures
Whether due to conflict, global warming or simply rich people trying to improve their lot, migration is almost certainly set to grow – and it’s likely to be the only way to replenish falling populations in the rich, developed world.
David Dodwell
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As I see it|What the emergence of ‘full-time children’ tells us about modern China
There is a growing trend for young adults who cannot find a job returning to live with their parents – often doing chores in exchange for an allowance,
Josephine Ma
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Macroscope|Improve women’s workforce participation to lift the global economy
While policies aimed at influencing fertility warrant attention, more urgency should be applied to increasing women’s labour force participation rate. Female education is a vital source of support for long-term economic growth, and that growth feeds into a virtuous cycle that can benefit everyone.
Ecaterina Bigos
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