China Records Slowest Population Growth In Decades

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: China's population grew at its slowest pace in decades, according to government data released on Tuesday. The 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. The results add pressure on Beijing to boost measures for couples to have more babies and avert a population decline. The results were announced in a once-a-decade census, which was originally expected to be released in April. The census was conducted in late 2020 where some seven million census takers had gone door-to-door to collect information from Chinese households. Given the sheer number of people surveyed, it is considered the most comprehensive resource on China's population, which is important for future planning.

Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that 12 million babies were born last year -- a significant decrease from the 18 million newborns in 2016. However he added that it was 'still a considerable number.' China's working-age population -- which it defines as people aged between 16 and 59 -- has also declined by 40 million as compared to the last census in 2010. But chief methodologist Zeng Yuping said that the total size 'remains big' with 880 million. 'We still have an abundant labour force,' he said. However, [principal economist from The Economist Intelligence Unit, Ms Yue Su] warned that going forward, continued drops in the labour force 'will place a cap on China's potential economic growth.' She added: 'The demographic dividend that propelled the country's economic rise over recent decades is set to dissipate quickly.' Last month, the Census Bureau reported that the United States population grew at the slowest rate since the 1930s, 'a remarkable slackening that was driven by a leveling off of immigration and a declining birthrate,' reports The New York Times.

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