Latest News Stream - Population

China’s population fell by 3.39 million to 1.405 billion in 2025, marking the 4th straight year of decline, following a 1.39 million drop in 2024. It also marked the lowest population since 2017, with the total number of births declining to 7.92 million in 2025, its lowest in decades, from 9.54 million in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of deaths rose to 11.31 million from 10.93 million in 2024. China’s population continued to age in 2025, with those aged 60 and above numbering 323 million and accounting for 23% of the total population, up one percentage point from 2024. China’s population policy is emerging as a key part of its economic strategy, as Beijing rolls out its most wide-ranging push to boost a flagging birth rate. Beijing is looking at a total potential cost of around CNY 180 billion in 2026 to encourage births, according to Reuters estimates, as authorities grapple with undoing decades of strict population control that helped tackle poverty but reshaped Chinese families.

Singapore's population grew by 1.2% year-on-year in June 2025, reaching a new high of 6.11 million, according to government statistics released on Monday. The latest population increase was driven primarily by growth in the number of foreign workers, which rose 2.7% from a year earlier to 1.91 million as of June. According to the National Population and Talent Division, the rise came largely from workers in the construction, marine shipyard, and processing sectors, as well as an increase in domestic workers. Singapore has experienced steady population growth since the end of the pandemic, a period during which strict border controls led to rare instances of population decline in the Asian financial hub. Meanwhile, the citizen population edged up 0.7% from a year earlier to 3.66 million, while the number of permanent residents held steady at 0.54 million.

China is set to introduce nationwide cash subsidies to boost childbirth amid a persistent population decline that poses long-term economic risks, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Under the proposed policy, families would receive CNY 3,600 annually for each child born on or after January 1, 2025, continuing until the child turns three. Though not yet officially announced, the move signals Beijing’s growing urgency to tackle demographic challenges. Despite ending the one-child policy nearly a decade ago, the country’s birthrate has continued to fall, with only 9.54 million births recorded in 2024, the second-lowest number since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Local governments reportedly have already begun offering incentives, including housing subsidies and lump-sum payments.

Canada's population grew by 1.3 million in 2023 reaching 40.8 million, with a record-breaking annual growth rate of 3.2%, primarily driven by immigration. However, new restrictions on temporary residents and international students are expected to slow this growth. While bolstering the economy, the rapid growth has strained infrastructure and housing, prompting anxiety over living standards and leading the government to scale back immigration ambitions.

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.

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.