Go to Article
Excerpt from amp.scmp.com
“Beijing needs to systematically plan its population policy and increase social support for childbearing to alleviate the financial burdens associated with parenthood and children’s education,” said Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong.
The high-level conclave underscores the intensity of focus China has placed on looming demographic challenges as the country – historically reliant on a large labour force to fuel economic growth – attempts to halt a precipitous slide in birth rates.
A total of 9.02 million babies were born in 2023, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in January – the lowest figure since the founding of the country in 1949.In the same year, the fertility rate in China – the number of children a woman can be expected to have in her lifetime – plunged from 2.6 births in the late 1980s to 1.19, according to data from the United Nations.
About The Author
