Business

China's population has decreased for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, as birth rates hit an all-time low, despite the government's efforts to encourage them. By the end of 2025, the population dropped by 3.39 million to 1.4 billion, according to government data released on Monday. The birth rate fell to 5.63 births per 1,000 people, which is the lowest since the Communist Party came to power in 1949. Meanwhile, the death rate increased to 8.04 per 1,000 people, the highest it has been since 1968. With an aging population and a slow economy, Beijing is working hard to motivate young people to marry and have children. In 2016, the government ended its long-standing one-child policy and introduced a two-child limit. After that did not lead to a significant rise in births, officials allowed couples to have three children starting in 2021. Recently, China has been offering parents 3,600 yuan (£375; $500) for each child under three years old. Some provinces are also providing their own bonuses, including extra payments and longer maternity leave. However, some of these measures have caused controversy. For instance, a new 13% tax on contraceptives, like condoms and birth control pills, has raised worries about unwanted pregnancies and the spread of HIV. China has one of the lowest fertility rates globally, with about one birth per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1. Other countries in the region, such as South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, also have low fertility rates. Additionally, raising a child in China is considered very expensive, according to a report from the YuWa Population Research Institute in Beijing in 2024.