BEIJING - Mainland China's birth rate dropped to a record low of 7.52 per 1,000 people in 2021, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday , accelerating a downward trend that led Beijing last year to
China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit to try to avoid the economic risks from a rapidly ageing population, but the high cost of urban living has deterred couples from having more children.The natural growth rate of China's population, which excludes migration, was only 0.034 per cent for 2021, the lowest since 1960, according to the data.
"The demographic challenge is well known but the speed of population ageing is clearly faster than expected," said Dr Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset management. "This suggests China's total population may have reached its peak in 2021. It also indicates China's potential growth is likely slowing faster than expected," Dr Zhang said.The birth rate in 2020 was 8.52 births per 1,000 people.
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