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Updated May 11th, 2021 at 16:22 IST

China reports slowest population growth in decades, annual growth drops to 0.53%

China’s average annual growth rate was 0.53% over the past 10 years, down from a rate of 0.57% between 2000 and 2010 - bringing the population to 1.41 billion.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
China
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK | Image:self
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China’s population grew at its slowest pace in decades, according to government data released on May 11. The National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing said that the average annual growth rate was 0.53 per cent over the past 10 years, down from a rate of 0.57 per cent between 2000 and 2010 - bringing the population to 1.41 billion. The results were announced in a once-a-decade census, which was originally expected to be released in April. 

China’s population growth has been slowing for decades as a combination of rising incomes and a restrictive one-child policy reduced births in the world’s most populous nation. The latest census was conducted in late 2020 where some seven million census takers had gone door-t-door to collect information from Chinese household. Now, given the number of people surveyed, it is considered the most comprehensive resource on China’s population, which is important for future planning. 

According to BBC, The head of National Bureau Statistics, Ning Jizhe, revealed that 12 million babies were born last year, which is a significant decrease from the 18 million newborns in 2016. However, he also added that the data was still a “considerable number”. Ning said that lower fertility is a natural result of China’s social and economic development.

Number of registered birth declined in 2020

A separate data in February revealed that the number of registered birth declined by almost 15 per cent in 2020 from the previous year. The share of the working-age population also slumped to 63.4 per cent in 2020 from more than 70 per cent a decade ago. Residents aged 60 and above accounted for 18.7 per cent of the population in 2020, up from 13.3 per cent in 2010. 

Given the slowing population growth, back in 2016, the Chinese government had ended the controversial one-child policy and allowed couples to have two children. However, the reform failed to reverse the country’s falling birth rate despite a two-year increase immediately afterwards. It is worth noting that China’s population trends have over the years been largely shaped by the one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979 to slow population growth. Families that had violated the rules even faced fines, loss of employment and sometimes forced abortions. 

(Image: Shutterstock) 
 

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Published May 11th, 2021 at 16:22 IST

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