China Population Growth Slowest in Decades

China's population increased by less than half a million to 1.413 billion in 2021, the slowest pace in decades, with officials saying that the country's population has entered a "zero growth" period amid concerns over a faster than expected pace in citizenry aging.

The number of births declined to 10.62 million last year, a fifth consecutive year of falls or equivalent to 7.5 births per 1,000 people, the lowest growth rate since the founding of new China under the Communist Party of China in 1949.

In May, Beijing allowed married couples to have up to three children, after a two-child limit implemented in 2016 failed to lead to a sustained upsurge in births.

The country had been under the one-child policy for decades.