China Population Falls for 2nd Year

China's population fell by 2.08 million to 1.409 million in 2023, following a 0.85 million drop in 2022 which was the first population decline since 1961.

In 2023, the number of births reached 9.02 million, the least since 1949, pushing the birth rate down to 6.39 per 1,000 people, due to the impact of the pandemic and subdued economic conditions.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths increased to 11.1 million.

The male population totaled 720.32 million and the female population 689.35 million.

The working-age population aged 16 to 59 accounted for 61.3% and those aged 60 and above represented 21.1% of the national population.