China’s Population Declines For The First Time Since the 1960s, With India Soon Poised to Surpass It

China, the nation with the most people in the world, experienced a population decline last year for the first time in 60 years, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Thus according to official statistics, the demographic of the Asian country was approximately 1,411,750,000 (1.4 billion) by the end of 2022, a decline of 850,000 from either the end of the last year.

The results are anticipated to signal the start of a decrease in China’s population, which might have a significant impact on the economic situation of the nation, which also suffered after expanding by only 3% in 2022, the poorest rate in 40 years, according to government statistics.

The most recent study supports analysts’ predictions that India, the 2nd largest populated nation, will surpass China to grab the top slot. Searches on google for baby strollers on Baidu search on China’s query dropped 17% in 2022 and are down 41% since 2018. This is reported by a Reuters report. Additionally, since 2018, “baby bottles” searches have decreased by more than a third. Google Trends indicates a 15% increase in infant bottle inquiries year over year in India in 2022, compared to a roughly five-fold increase in inquiries for cribs.

Key Points of Development From China’s Population Decrease

The Great Famine brought on by Mao Zedong’s agrarian strategy, referred to as the Leap Forward, prompted China to see its last declining population in 1960. According to Reuters, the United Nations had previously forecast that the second most-visited nation’s citizen population will begin to decline to start this year. More UN experts predicted that the population of china would decline by 109 million by 2050, more than tripling their earlier estimate from 2019.

Due to China’s strict “one-child policy,” which was implemented in 1980s out of concern about overcrowding and was merely loosened in 2016 because then couples might have three children starting in 2021, a large portion of the demographic fall has been ascribed to China. According to Reuters, which cited population specialists, the “zero-covid” policy, which was in existence for three years before being abolished last year, compounded the harm by forcing residents to remain at home in the face of a meager stream of funds.

The Asian nation’s local governments launched several initiatives to combat the declining birthrate despite the progress. These include subsidized housing, extended maternity leaves, and write-offs. For instance, Shenzhen, a city in southern China, currently provides birth bonuses and subsidies that are given until the youngster is three years old. Since January 1, families who are expecting a second child are now receiving a 600 yuan monthly allowance from the eastern city of Jinan.