China could see the number of births slip below 10 million annually in the next five years if the government does not quickly abolish its policy of limiting families to two children, an expert was quoted as saying in the domestic press.
China’s total population could also decline in a few years, Dong Yuzheng, director of the Guangdong Academy of Population Development, told Yicai, a Chinese financial news store.
The number of children born in China fell by 580,000 to 14.65 million in 2019, and the birth rate of 10.48 per thousand was the lowest since 1949, when current methods of data collection began, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. .
It has not yet revealed a figure for last year, although it publishes such data at the end of February.
The declining birth rate and its fast-paced society are expected to test their ability to pay and care for the elderly.
Although China abolished its 10-decade-old policy in 2016, couples have been discouraged from having larger families due to rising health care, education and housing costs. The economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have further influenced the decisions to have children.
Separate data from the Ministry of Public Security show that the number of births decreased last year by 15% to 10.035 million births from 11.79 million in 2019.
The ministry may not count some children in rural areas, said Liu Kaiming, a labor expert in the southern city of Shenzhen, adding that the number of newborns in 2020 is expected to be between 10 and 14 million.
“(Number of births) could fall below 10 million next year,” Liu said.
Also, China has not yet announced the results of a once-a-decade census. Earlier, he said the results would be published in early April.
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