China's Population Growth Slowest In Decades Despite Reversing One-Child Policy

(Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Frayer)
BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 12: Women hold their babies as they talk at a local park on May 12, 2021 in Beijing, China. According to data released by the government from a national census, China's population grew 0.53 percent over the last 10 years down from 0.57 percent a decade ago bringing the population to 1.41 billion.

China is slated to reach a "turning point" from 2026 and 2030, with its population plateauing or diminishing. According to a state think tank on Wednesday, fewer babies mean a slowdown and then a turnaround in the momentum of growth. The globe's most populous country witnessed 5.38 percent more people in the previous decade to 1.41 billion, as indicated in the results of a nationwide census issued on Tuesday.

China's population growth woes with births dropping by 18 percent

China's census report displayed that the number of births in the nation in 2020 dropped 18 percent from 2019. China is not alone as populations have been stagnating worldwide for decades, including in the United States.

China's most gradual population growth in decades might be felt more serious outside its borders than within them. The economy will remain to hum, and incomes could continue to climb, albeit at a slower pace, reported Business Standard.

The census report revealed that China's average yearly growth rate in the last ten years had declined to 0.53 percent. It went down from 0.57 percent from 2000 to 2010. China's statisticians attributed this dip in the population to a flagging birth rate. Couples are delaying having a family, and more women decide not to bear children, reported Insider.

The country has recorded the slowest rate of population growth since the 1950s. Fertility has decreased due to rising living costs, a decades-long one-child policy, and changing social mores, reported Reuters.

Why It Matters

China has long been dependent on its large population as a core driver of economic growth. The way that the country and officials worldwide deal with changing demographics will lead to economic and geopolitics shifts.

Beijing's once-in-a-decade census displayed there were 1.412 billion people in China in 2020. The yearly average growth of 0.53 percent in the previous decade was the slowest rate since 1953.

While China's total population remains at a solid 1.41 billion people, China reportedly missed a target it designated in 2016 to get to 1.42 billion people by last year. The setting of this population growth goal in 2016 coincided with the lifting of its one-child policy. This mandate was put in place by China's government in 1979 to curb its booming population, which limited families to one child for a whole generation.

Negative population growth is slated to surface because of a fall in young and working-age people. This carries with it problems for an economy that has long been dependent on so-called demographic dividends to underpin progress.

The country's falling birth rate is the direct effect of that policy. As China is now reversing course aggressively, officials are currently calling for incentives to encourage births.

Long-running trends became more underscored: The working-age population dipped to 63.4 percent from over 70 percent one decade ago-the share of residents that are 60 years old and above jumped. Over half of Chinese citizens currently live in cities.