Beijing, Jan 17 (EFE).- The population of China, the world’s second-most populous country, fell by about 1.39 million last year, according to official data published Friday by the nation’s statistics office.
The data represents the third consecutive year of contraction, after the population decreased by 2.08 million people in 2023 and by 850,000 inhabitants in 2022.
That was the first decline since 1961, when the number of inhabitants shrank as a result of the famine derived from the failed industrialization policy of the Great Leap Forward.
The 2024 decline represents a 0.09 percent drop compared to the previous year, and although it confirms the negative demographic trend that began in 2022 and about which the Chinese authorities have been warning for years, it is a more moderate decline than that recorded in 2023, when the population fell by 0.14 percent.
The country recorded 9.54 million births last year, an increase compared to the 9.02 million recorded in 2023—the lowest figure since 1949—after numerous policies announced by authorities at both local and national levels to try to create a “child-friendly society.”
Specifically, China closed 2024 with 1.408 million inhabitants, compared to 1.409 billion in 2023.
According to official data, men exceed women, with a ratio of 104.34 men for every 100 women: the number of men stood at 719.09 million, while the number of women was 689.19 million.
The office’s figures also reflect a decrease in deaths in 2024, which fell from 11.1 million in 2023 to 10.93 million.
Since 2021, China has allowed its citizens to have a third child, although the decision has not been welcomed with great enthusiasm by the population, due both to the economic burden of raising a child and the priority given to a career.
During the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2022, the ruling party said the country needs a system that “increases birth rates and reduces the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, schooling and parenting.”
In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping called the demographic crisis a “vital issue” for the country and called for efforts to combat the falling birth rate and population size.
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